
Book- / ^LJc^ 



58th Congress I 
3d Session I 



House of Representatives No" 478 



Charles W. Thompson 



\ Late a Representative from Alabama I 



Memorial Addresses Delivered in the 
House of Representatives and Senate 



Second Session of ttie 
Fitty-eigtith Congress 



Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 



WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1905 






SEP 26 iyU6 
D. ofD. 




aiojjj. ej-jASiiss 'WD,?]^?® jj ^/wasapsQKi 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 

Proceedings in the House 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden 5 

Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama ... lo 

Address of Mr. Littlefield, of JIaine ij 

Address of Mr. Clayton, of Alabama 20 

Address of Mr. Conner, of Iowa 24 

.\ddress of Mr. Bowie, of Alabama 27 

Address of Mr. Smith, of Iowa 3'-' 

Address of Mr. Thoma.s, of North Carolina 33 

Address of Mr. Rainey, of Illinois 4^' 

Address of Mr. Burnett, of .Alabama 45 

.A.ddre.ss of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 5° 

Address of Mr. Scarborough, of South Carolina 55 

Addre.ss of Mr. Richardson, of Alabama 59 

Address of Mr. Bankhead, of .Alabama 61 

Address of Mr. Wiley, of Alabama 66 

Proceedings in the Senate 75 

Address of ilr. Jlorgan, of Alabama Si 

Address of Mr. Dolliver, of Iowa 94 

Address of Mr. Berry, of .Arkansas too 

Address of Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois 103 

Address of Mr. Pettus, of Alabama 107 



Death of Representative C. W. Thompson 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 

Monday, March 21^ 1904. 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon. . 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry X. Couden, offered the 
following prayer: 

Our Father who art in Hea\'en, profoundly impressed 
with the uncertainty of our earthly existence by the. 
renio\-al of another of our Congressional famih-, cut off in 
the midst of a useful and successful career, we most fer- 
vently pray that we may so order our lives that when the 
summons conies we shall be ready with faith and confi- 
dence to move forward, realizing that death is not an 
extinction of being, but an epoch, an event in the grand 
eternal march of existence. 

Be graciously near to those whose hearts have been 
touched, wounded by this death. Comfort them bv the 
blessed thought that though he ma)' not come to them, 
they shall surely go to him and dwell with him in the 
realms of eternal peace. Hear us in the name of Him 
who taught us the resurrection and the life, for Thine is 
the kingdom and the power and the glorA- forever. Amen. 

5 



6 Proceedings in tlic House 

DKATH OF REPRESENTATIVE CHARLIES W. THOrPSOX. 

.Mr. Wiley, of Alabama. ^Ir. Speaker, it becomes my 
painful duty to annonnce to the Hou.se the untimely death 
of niv late di.sting-ni.shed colleague, Hon. Charles Win- 
ston Thompson, who \va.s the Representative from the 
I'ifth Congressional district of Alabama in the Fifty- 
se\-enth and p-ifty-eighth Congre.s.ses. Later on in the .ses- 
sion I shall ask this House to take appropriate action in 
regard to the death of my deceased friend and colleague. 

I now send to the Clerk's desk and ask the reading and 
immediate adoptien of the following resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Rtsolvcd, That tlK- House lias heard with profound regret of the 
untimely death of Hon. Ch.\kle.s Win.sTon Thompson, late a Represen- 
tative from the State of Alabama. 

Rcsoh'fd, That a conmiittee of fifteen Members of the House, with 
.such members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the 
funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Anns of the House of Representatives be 
authorized and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carry- 
ing out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary expense 
in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

The Spe.aker. The question is on agreeing to the 
resolutions. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to; and the 
Speaker announced the following committee: 

:\Ir. Wiley, of Alabama; Mr. Clayton, of Alabama; Mr. 
Bowie, of Alabama; ^Ir. Padgett, of Tennessee; Mr. Oaines, 
of Tennes.see; ^Ir. Ivittlefield, of Maine; Mr. Brown, of Wis- 
consin; Mr. Darragh, (_)f ^lichigau; Mr. Williams, of Illinois; 



Proceedings in tlir House 7 

Mr. Hill, of Connecticut; ^Ir. Scarborout^h, of vSoutli Car- 
olina; Mr. Southard, of Ohio; INIr. Patterson, of Xorth Car- 
olina; INIr. Houston, of Delaware; ^Ir. Aiken, of South 
Carolina. 

The Clerk then reported the following resolution: 

A't-so/zrJ. That as a further mark of respect this House do now adjourn. 

The Spe.\ker. The question is on agreeing to the 
resolution. 

The question was taken, and the resolution was unan- 

inioush- agreed to; and according!)- (at i o'clock and 21 

minutes p. m.) the House adjourned until to-morrow at 12 

o'clock m. 

April 6, 1904. 

eulogies ok the late hon. ch.\rles w. thompson. 

IVIr. Wiley, of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent for the present consideration of the following 
resolution. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

A't'sohrd. That when the House adjourn on Saturday, .\pril 23, it be to 
meet on Sunday, April 24, at 2 p. m. , for the purpose of paying tribute to 
the memory of Ch.a.ei,es W. Thompson, deceased, late a Representative 
from the State of Alabama. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? [After a pause.] 
The Chair hears none, and, without objection, the resolu- 
tion will be agreed to. 

There was no objection. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

April 24, 1904. 

dkath of hon. charles w. thompson. 

'Sir. Wiley, of Alabama. I offer the resolutions which I 
send to the desk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

ResolvfJ, That the business of the House be now suspended that op- 
portunity mav be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. Charles W. 
Thompson, late a Jlember of this Houee from the State of Alabama. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of tlie 
deceased and in recognition of his di.stiuguished public career, the House 
at the conclusion of the exercises of this day shall .stand adjourned. 

Resolved. That the Clerk conmmnicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the family 
of the deceased. 

The Speaker pro, tempore. The question is on agreeing 
to the resolutions. 

The question was taken, and the resolutions were unani- 
mously agreed to. 



lo Life and Character of C. Jl'. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Underwood, of Alabama 

Mr. Spkakkk: In an hour of sadness we sometimes stand 
aside from the maddening; stream of hnmanit\-, rusliing on 
in the daily strnj^i^le for life, and ask, What is it all about? 
Why this ceaseless fight for existence? Wh\- this stren- 
uous toil for wordly success? \\'h\- this ever unsatisfied 
desire to plunder more of life's honors and earth's riches 
than other men are allowed to do? Up from the strug- 
gling masses, straight from the fighting crowd, the answer 
is wafted back: "This is the day we are allowed to plav 
our parts, the only day we will ever have; time will not 
stop to wait for us. On we must struggle if we expect to 
obtain ambition's success, for the road of life leads to waste 
and decay, and the end of the journey is almost in sight 
by the time we ha\-e well begun." Then, wh\' should we 
start at all? Why labor to continue a journev that must 
end in darkness and in nothing? Win- .seek to acquire 
riches that leave us at the gra\-e? Why barter the peace 
of life for lunors that die with us and are .soon buried 
tinder the mold of time? Well miglit we answer: 'Twere 
better the journey were not begun if the main highwav 
leading on through the heat of noonday sun, througli the 
dust of disappointed hopes, and o\-er the jagged rocks of 
un.satisfied ambition were the onlv road over which life's 
burdens could be carried to the peace beyond the grave; 



Address of Mr. i'/idcrzcood, of Alabama ii 

but it is not. Beyond tlie main liis^^luvax- there is a shady 
pathway whose way is blazed onh- to trne philosophers. 
Along that path bnt few great names are inscribed ; the 
clanking swords of the world's great generals are unheard ; 
there none feel the iron hand of despotic rule ; there the 
barter and soul-destroying struggle for great wealth does 
not thrive ; there the mere brutal fight for existence is 
never found ; there the desire to mount to success over 
other men's fortunes does not exist. 

Only those can wander there who have learned that \o\t 
of humanity, the broadening of the soul, self-respect and 
truth, are the true riches of life, and that peace is earth's 
greatest reward. Those who tra\-el along this quiet path 
of life are not struggling to supplant their fellow-men ; 
their motto is to do well their part, for there all the honor 
lies. This they have learned from .sad experience, and that 
any other course leads to pain and sorrow. 

In thinking of the life and death of our dead colleague 
and friend, C}i.\RLK.s Wix.sTox Tho.mpsox, I have drifted 
into these reflections. Our dead friend had attained man\' 
of life's victories, and yet he was not over ambitious — he 
did not acquire success at the cost of peace to himself. He 
had amassed a fair fortune, but he had not gathered it b\- 
pulling down his fellow-man. He was liberal in his chari- 
ties and kindly in his heart. He had attained high politi- 
cal honors, but never did he belittle the success or true 
worth of those he competed with. 

He drifted into the great beyond in his earl\- manhood, 
in the midst of life's achievements and rewards, but he was 



12 Life and Character of C. W. Thompson 

a philosopher with it all, and lived and died at peace with 
himself and with the world. " He played well his part," 
and died loved and honored by his friends and constituents. 

-A. darkening sky and a whitening sea, 

And a wind in the palm trees tall, 
Soon or late comes a call for me, 
Down from the mountain or u]) from the sea; 

There let me lie where I fall. 

And a friend may write — for friends there be — 

On a stone from the great sea wall: 
Jungle and town and reef and sea — 
I loved God's eartli and His earth loved me, 

Taken for all in all. 



Address of Mi: Littleficld, of Maine 13 



Address of Mr. Littlefield, of Maine 

Mr. vSpeaker : Twice have I been in the pleasant, 
hospitable, and typical town of Tnskegee, in the black 
belt of Alabama. On the first occasion, with a small 
Congressional part\', I was the gnest of Hon. Charles \\'. 
Thompson, of Alabama, and greatly eujox-ed his whole- 
souled and generous hospitalit)'. (Jn the second occasion, 
as a member of the Congressional committee, it became 
mv privilege to accompany his body to its last resting 
place in the beautiful cemetery at Tuskegee, where it 
now lies with his kindred. Vl\ acquaintance with him 
and nn- knowledge of his man)- estimable personal qual- 
ities and characteristics are such as enable me to render 
upon this occasion, in more than a perfunctory way, a 
sincere and heartfelt tribute to his memory. In person 
he was engaging and attractive. His character was of 
the highest, and his personal and political integrity were 
above suspicion. He was a fine specimen of the Christian 
southern gentleman. Cut off in the forty-fourth year of 
his life, he was serving with great credit to himself and 
usefulness to his State his second term as a Member of 
the House. 

The fact that during this relativeh' short life he had 
accumulated by honest toil and his own indi\idual efforts 
what is considered a handsome fortune in his section is 
the conchisive demon.stration of his great business ability 



14 Life and Character of C. W. Thompson 

and tlirift, and fnrnislies the adequate reason for the prom- 
inent and leadinjT position he occupied amoncr the people 
with whom he li\-ed, and, with his estimable personal 
characteristics, gives us the unerring key to the universal 
and widespread sorrow that was manifested at the time 
of his death bv his fellow-citizens. 

The deep, sincere, and heartfelt mourning that moved 
his townspeople, without regard to race or color, was a 
most striking tribute to his memory. The influence and 
position which he acquired in the House is known to 
us all, and is creditable to his natural abilities as well as 
his industrious and painstaking .service in committee and 
on the floor. 

Beyond and above this ordinary ser\-ice which simph- 
reaches the common level and is not necessarily indicative 
of high ideals or characterized b\- advancing and elevating 
thought, I believe that 'Mr. Thompson was sincerelv and 
successfully contributing to the solution of one of the 
greatest problems that can concern the people that he rep- 
resented — indissohilily united as we are, the problem that 
seriously concerns us all — without abandoning or surren- 
dering any of the ideas and views which have by long con- 
tact and intimate a.s.sociation with the colored race become 
firmly embedded in the consciousness of the Anglo-Saxon 
race in the South. 

By precept and example, the influence of a successful 
business and public man, and direct personal effort, he 
used every endeavor to aid and facilitate the development 
and the ele\-ation of this unfortunate race. Believing that 
the mi.sc(ince|)ti<)n and misunderstanding tliat exists and 



Address of Mr. Littleficld^ of Maine 15 

persists between the people of the North and the vS(.iuth 
upon this question as to the real spirit, purposes, and de- 
sires of each section was profound and unfortunate, he 
thouglit that nothing could dispel it more ei?ectually than 
the actual observation by each section of conditions as 
they exist and b\- having brethren meet brethren in the 
home and business life of each. 

It is written, "As in water face answereth to face, so the 
heart of man to man." There can be no question that if 
the people of the North could visit and meet the people of 
the South and the people of the South could see the people 
i>f the North by their firesides and as the\- pursue their 
various avocations to a large degree violent prejudices 
would fade away, false impressions would be corrected, 
and sectional feeling would rapidly become a thing of the 
past. "A consummation devoutly to be wished." 

Mr. Thompson no doubt had these considerations in 
mind when he made the small Congressional part}- his 
guests, and while the visit was neccssarilv short and the 
information obtained meager, I feel justified in saying that 
all felt it a move in the right direction, and that those who 
constituted the party were beginning to more accurately 
appreciate real existing conditions. 

He did not, however, .satisfy himself bv generalities, but 
devoted a great portion of his tireless, well-directed energy 
to aiding individuals of the race whose lot had been cast 
with his in the most practical and efficient manner. In 
answer to a letter from me for specific information upon 
this great question, he wrote on February 12, 1903, a letter 
which throws a flood of light upon the proper method of 



1 6 Life and Character of C. 11'. Thompson 

ultimately and siiccessfulh' solving the race problem, in 
which he said: 

Mv Dear Sir; Replying to your personal request for information 
regarding the colored people whom you met while on your visit to Ala- 
bama with "the Thompson party" last year. I introduced to you, on mv 
plantation, James Whitlow, colored, who can neither read nor write, and 
who owns SSo acres of well-improved farming land, valued at §12,000, 
and upon which there is no incumbrance, and also ten head of mules, 
cattle, etc. He is the father cf ten children, all of whom can read and 
write. His oldest son has purchased and is operating a public steam gin, 
and gins cotton for his community, keeps the books, and manages the 
business. Whitlow is a good citizen, enjoys a good credit, and is well 
resjiected by all of his neighbors, both white and black. He pays but 
little attention to politics, seldom ever votes, and is an honest, upright 
citizen. 

I also introduced to ^-ou Mose Green, who owns 400 acres of land, 
valued at $4,000, which lie purchased from me eight years ago on time 
without making a cash payment and paid for in four years. He has it 
well improved, is out of debt, and owns six mules and horses. 

He is an ex-slave, and can not read or write, but has six or eight chil- 
dren, all of whom can read and write; and his oldest son has recentlv 
bought and paid for 160 acres of land. 

Vou were also introduced to .\nthony Griffin, who purchased 400 acres 
of land adjoining that of Mose Green. He has it paid for, and has edu- 
cated all of his children at Booker Washington's school. He, like the 
others, can neither read nor write. 

Charlie Davis was also present, who owns 640 acres of land, valued at 
$4,000, which he purchased some years ago on time, and which is now 
unencumbered and paid for. He has a fairh- good common school educa- 
tion, is a good citizen, and enjoj-s a good credit. 

We have in my county twenty or thirty other colored citizens who own 
good tracts of land, well improved, and who are accumulating propertr 
every year, and who are also educating their children at Booker Washing- 
ton's school and in the public schools of the county. These thrifty, 
economical, industrious colored people pay very little attention to politics; 
in fact, the}' seldom go to the polls; are highly respected in their sphere 
by both white and black, and enjoy the friendship, confidence, and protec- 
tion of the white people. 

A great many of the colore<l people you met on my plantation the day 
you spent there have lived as tenants on my land for the past twenty years 
and have lived comfortably, but have been extravagant and thriftless and 
have never accunnilatcd much property. 



Address of Mr. Lit lie field, of Maine 17 

Booker Washington's school has done a great work for the colored peo- 
ple in that section in stimulating and encouraging them to secure homes, 
accumulate property, and educate their children. 

I have learned since Mr. Thompson's death what hi.s 
modesty wonld not permit him to state in a personal 
letter, and that is that the larger portion of these " col- 
ored citizens" were indebted to him for the financial aid 
and business advice that enabled them to become good 
citizens, entitled to and receiving the respect of the 
people among whom they lived and wrought. 

In this noble work I conceive he was discharging the 
highest dnty of American citizenship, and for it he is 
entitled to the most nnresen,-ed commendation. It is a 
splendid object lesson of what may be accomplished b\' 
practical common-sense methods. 

One of Mr. Thompson's most striking characteristics 
was his accurate knowledge of human nature and the 
certainty with which he could select men who were 
worthy of help and would not abtise his confidence. He 
is fidly entitled to the encomium of Dean Swift, who 
declared that — 

Who ever could make two ears of com or two blades of grass to grow 
upon a spot of ground where only one grew before would deserve better 
of mankind and do more essential service to his country than the whole 
race of politicians put together. 

Who can render greater service to his country than he 
who demonstrates the po.ssibility of making useful citizens 
of a race which, under proper conditions of education and 
development, should pro\-e and will prove the South's 
most valuable agricultural and industrial resource? 
Rightly and wisely utilized, it will be the most potent 
H. Doc. 47S. 5S-3 2 



1 8 fJfc and Chci racier of C. 11'. Tlionipso)! 

factor in llie development of that agricultural, industrial, 
and material greatness which is the (rod-given birthright 
of that land of brave men and fair and virtuous women. 

Where are the Anglo-Sa.xons who, with the same 
opportunity-, struggling against the .same disadvantages, 
can show the same achiexement and success that have 
attended the efforts of James Whitlow, Mo.se Green, 
Anthony Griffin, Charles Davis, and " twent\- or thirtv 
other colored citizen.s," aided b}- such men as Mr. Thomp- 
son? Given enough of such colored men and enough 
such men to aid them, and the race question will, when 
time enough shall have elapsed for the jaroper operation 
of these legitimate forces, work out its own .solution. 

The establishment of a home to shelter his wife and 
children, the education of his children, teaching the 
gospel of honest toil, and the accumulation of propertv 
adequate for their comfortable maintenance and support 
are e.s.sential features in all true American citizenship. 
These pos.sessed and all (jther e.ssential elements follow, 
"as the night the day." To the.se noble ends ;\Ir. Tho.mp- 
.sox lULselfishly bent his be.st energies with most gratify- 
ing success. He was not onh- the friend and supporter 
of e\-er\- good work, 1)ut he was especially interested in 
and efficiently supported the magnificent \\ork being done 
b)- Booker T. \\'a.shington in the Tuskegee Institute. 

He was a firm believer in its great utilit\-, beginning as 
it docs at the bottom with jiractical industrial education, 
laying the firm foundation without which no enduring 
superstructure can stand. That his work in this direc- 
tion was thomughly a])]ireciated by the colored people 



Address of Mr. Littlcficld, of Maine 19 

no one conld fail to see who witnessed the great out- 
pouring of that race as the}-, gathered at the funeral 
exercises and foll6wed his body to the grave with sincere, 
pathetic, and unobtrusive manifestations of profound 
sorrow. 

True it is that the\' have lost a firm and faithful 
friend, his town its foremost and well-belo\-ed citizen, 
and his State and his country a broad, liberal-minded, 
catholic, and progressive Christian statesman. May we 
not express the belief that his progressive, enlightened, 
catholic, and patriotic spirit was in truth and fact in 
harnionv with the prevailing sentiment of the law- 
abiding, patriotic. God-fearing people of his beloved 
Southland? That, without antagonizing or attempting 
to eradicate ideas that are the result of generations of 
development, education, and heredity in opening the 
door of opportunit}- to a race recenth- emerged from 
barbarism and kindling the flame of hope in the breast 
of the lowly, he correctly voiced the higher and nobler 
sentiment that is perhaps slowly, but none the less surely, 
pervading the land of the orange and the palm? 

If we are justified in entertaining this belief, the time 
can not be far distant when, luider the blessing and 
o-nidauce of the Ood of nations, our fathers' God and 
our God, we shall witness the full fruition of the scrip- 
tural saying, " For now we see through a glass, darkh-; 
but then, face to face." 



20 ZV/i' and Cliaracter of C. II'. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Clayton, of Alabama 

Mr. Speakkr: I ha\-e come lo-day to join in these 
ceremonies, to indorse the beantiful sentiments nttered 
in behalf of onr dead friend, and to vote for the resoln- 
tions which ha\'e Ijeen offered. The melancholy occasion 
and knowledo^e deri\-ed from an intimate as.sociation with 
]\Ir. Thomp.SOX natnrally snggest the thonghts that come 
to nie. 

While death is looked npon as the final and great 
calamity in e\ery life, it at least brings all living men to 
the jDosition where the^• are willing and dispo.sed to do 
justice to the dead, whether foe or comrade. It is perhaps 
true that the best measure of any man can be had after his 
departure from the conflicts of life. His friends can then 
best contemplate his good deeds and his honorable career. 
If he had antaironists while living, he is no longer in com- 
petition with them. He has ceased to be the object of 
jealonsv or en\'\". The grave has in his case silenced in 
the hearts of living men these human frailties. 

In great .sorrow we now pay loving and just tribute to 
the character, the public services, and the u.sefnl life of our 
departed friend. 

On this the Lord's Day we ha\-e con\-erted this Hall, the 
scene of nianv a fierce political strtiggle, into a sort of 
sauctuar\-, into a jilace where we acknowledge the onniipi>- 
tence of God, and bow in recognition to His universal 



Address of Mr. Clayton, of Alabfona 21 

law — the law of life and death. We stand in the presence 
of death and confess that man, with all his boasted 
knowledge and ingennit\-, ninst in the end admit his 
inability to defeat the dread reaper, and that, sooner or 
later, under the inexorable providence of God, all the sons 
and daughters of Adam will go willingly or unwillingly to 
join the departed in the great beyond. 

In considering the success that otir friend achieved in 
life we ought to be mindful of the obstacles that he met 
with and that he o\-ercame, for all success is meastirable ; 
it is all comparati\-e. We find that less than forty-four 
years ago this yotmg man was born in ]Macon County, Ala., 
at a time when the fair land of the South was suffering 
acuteh' from a cruel and devastating war. He was born 
amidst devastation. The section of our great country from 
which he came was then about to undergo an industrial 
revolution — a change from slave labor to free labor — under 
which changed conditions doubtless the South has achieved 
greater industrial development than would have been possi- 
ble under the old conditions. In short, we ma)' say that 
Mr. Thompson was a child of the bloodiest war of the 
nineteenth centur\'. 

As soon as he had reached the age and growth that 
enabled him to .see over the top of a business counter in his 
father's store he engaged in helping his father earn a 
livelihood for a large and growing famih'. He was put to 
work — aye, he went to work in his early youth gladly and 
willingly. The citizens of his town are fond of relating 
the story of his work, beginning when he was a barefooted 
boy and ending when he was a planter on a large scale, a 



22 Life and Cliaractcr of C. It'. ThoDipson 

successful l:)aiikcr, and an honored Member of Cono^ress. 
We can not doubt that the experience and practice which 
he had, be^rinniuL;- in his early youtli, equijjped and trained 
him so that he became a successful business man. Doubt- 
less the apparent hardshi]) which the 1)()\' underwent en- 
abled him to hu' a foundation of that sterlinij character 
and led to lari^^-e accomplishments — first in btisiness and 
afterwards in politics. 

This voting nuin entered politics a few \-ears ago, first b}- 
election to the State .senate of Alabama. He there pro\-ed 
himself tO be a wise and useful legislator, .so that .scarcely 
had his ser\ices as senator ended when he was chosen to 
come to this body, charged with making laws for our 
whole united country. He came here because he was 
ambitious to .serve his State and countr\-. No other 
inducement guided him, for he had amassed what is called 
a fortune in the SdiUli and a com])etenc\' in au}- section of 
the country, and that, too, without e\-er having .subjected 
himself e%-en to a suspicion of a qticstionable dealing. 
Indeed, he was liberal and fair and busines.slike in all his 
methods. 

Pint, Mr. S])raker, there are others who know more 
about his business achievements than T do. I first learned 
to know Mr. Thompson well after he had entered the 
])olit'ical arena. He did not have a collegiate education. 
He had little familiarity with ])olite literature. But he 
had a sujierior, (iod-gi\en endowment. He had an incisi\-e 
intellect, a <piick ])erce])tion, good judgment, and rare 
connnon .sen.se. He brought all these gifts witli him in 
his political life. It mav be .said of him that, perhaps, no 



Address of Mr. Clayton, of .llahanui 23 

man in this Congress has acconiplislied more in life, in the 
face of ach-erse circumstances, in a like number of xx-ars, 
than this xonng man accomplished. He would have been 
sent to the next Congress by the unanimous voice of his 
people. No man had dared rise up to oppose him. His 
death came as a shock and as grievous misfortune to his 
immediate constituents. Our friend has gone. We bless 
his memor\' and prai.se his noble qualities. We can do no 
more except to draw le.s.sons and inspiration from his 
useful and honorable career. 

He was a typical southerner, with all his warmth of 
heart, with all of his impulsiveness, and with all of his 
courage and honesty of purpo.se. He lo\-ed his people. He 
loved his State. He loved his country. He ,ser\-ed all of 
them well and faithfulh'. A few weeks ago we took that 
which was mortal of him from this city down to Alabama, 
and on a sunlit plain we laid him away and covered his 
newh' made grave with a profusion of flowers. He now 
sleeps a sleep that shall know no wakening until the resur- 
rection morn. Rest, dear friend, in the bo.som of your 
beloved mother State, and in that dear old community 
where the aged and the x-oung, all the jieople, the white 
and the black, revere the memory, honor the good work, 
and are proud of the achievements of Cn.-^RLE.s W. Thomp- 
son. We laid him awa\' in "God's acre," in his belo\-ed 
Alabama, a land .so fair and ble.s.scd of hea\-en, where even 
at night, under moonlit skies and amidst the evergreen 
boughs of the magnolia, the mocking bird sings in 
December. 



24 Life nini C'/ia racier of C. 11 '. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Conner, of Iowa 

^Ir. Speaker: Death does not always come as a surprise. 
When by reason of extreme age or prolonged ilhiess it 
claims one of our number we regard his removal as inevi- 
table and soon become reconciled to it. It is like a reaper 
in a field of ripened grain, where we e.xpect to find the 
golden harvest hing low after the sickle has passed. But 
when in the vigor of mature manhood a friend is suddenlv 
stricken down we stand in mute surjjrise and are appalled. 
As we regain our mental poise and reflect calmly upon the 
situation the truth of the words so oft repeated comes to us: 
"In the midst of life we are in death." 

Why some are taken and some are left, why the strong 
and vigorous fall and the frail and weak remain can no 
more be miderstood than why the lightning in the forest 
strikes a tree of \-igorous growth and spares the one of 
lesser strength. These secrets are lodged onlv in the 
bo.som of the Infinite, to be revealed in His own good time. 
In our weakness and frailty we can but speculate as to the 
purpose while following in a path who.se course we do not 
know. 

Little did anyone at the beginning of this session of 
Congress imagine that before its close we would be called 
upon to mourn the loss of Mr. Thompson. There was 
nothing in his appearance or manner or in the smile that 
played u]M)n his face to indicate that he was soon to become 



Address of Mr. Conner, of Iowa 25 

a shining mark for death. It was perhaps better for him 
and for his friends that this nnwelcome secret was veiled 
from sight. 

It was my good fortnne to become acquainted with 
Mr. Thompson soon after he entered the Fift\-seventh 
Congress. He was from the South — a typical southerner. 
He loved the vSoutli and sought to have others share his 
affection for her institutions. He first on coming here 
made his home at a hotel where all the other Members 
of Congress were from the North and, as a rule, belonged 
to a different political part)-. And yet it was not long 
until he was the friend and associate of e\-ery Member 
living at the hotel, stranger that he was and affiliating 
with another party. His gracious manner, his warm and 
cordial nature endeared him to everyone who came into 
contact with him. 

Political affiliations were forgotten, sectional differences 
sank out of sight, and the man and friend only were 
seen. He had a distinct and marked individuality. He 
carried about him an atmosphere which charmed and 
drew men tiuto him and held them in its embrace. He 
was a loyal friend, not for a day only, 1;)ut for all time. 
He was frank and open in his life. He wished others 
to know more about him and his surroundings. He in- 
vited as his guests people from the North to visit his 
home, in order that the>- could better understand the 
conditions in the .South. Those who accepted his invi- 
tation and enjoyed his hospitality were channed with 
the simplicity of his life and the wealth of friendship 
that existed for him among all cla.sses in his own State. 



26 Lije and Character of C. IV. 77io»ipson 

He won at lu)ine as he did here, by his frank, open, 
and manly life. He was a faithfnl Representative and 
always lo\al to his district and State. Xo Congressnian 
was ever more alert to .serve his constituents than Mr. 
Thoiipsox. In his death his State and country lose a 
valnable Representative, his neighbors a true and loyal 
friend, while the loss to his family overshadows all 
others. And yet there comes to the stricken family a 
ray of hope in the thought that this son, tliis brother, 
this father has but passed out of sight, and that some 
time, some where, God in His goodness will bring about 
a reunion of mother, brother, and children, where death 
has no stiuir and the jrra\-e no ^•ictor^■. 



AMnss of Mr. Bozcif, of Alabama 



Address of Mr. Bowie, or Alabama 

Mr. Speakkr: (Jn this solemn occasion we all fee! 
the same unfei<i-ned regret. It is a .sad duty which calls 
ns together to-day. We come to pay owr tribnte and our 
respect to one who has gone from us. 

The fate which overtook Vlx. Thompson will sooner or 
' later overtake us all. It is the univer.sal law. The same 
summons comes with unerring certainty to the king in 
his palace and the peasant in his hovel. It has been so 
from the beginning ; it will be so to the end. " The 
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be 
the name of the Lord." 

If this is true, as it undoubtedly is, why is it that 
mankind remains unaccustomed to the sight ; that every 
new recurrence brings grief to many stricken hearts? 
Did anyone ever go but what there was some mourner 
at the funeral, some heart the sadder for the going? 
Death is not always feared or even regretted by the 
dying. To manv it is a relief from toil and trouble, a 
pa.ssing over the river to the great be>-ond with peace 
and thankfulness. Wlu', then, do the living always .shud- 
der? Wh\- does a convenient season never come to them 
for a loved one to go? The answer is a nnster\- which 
heaven has not revealed, but we all realize the truth of 
the impulse. 

At any rate we always bow our heads in grief and 
drop a tear of sympatln- o\-er each new-made grave. 



28 Life and Character of C. W. Thompson 

And so to-flay we meet together as a witness and a testi- 
monial of onr love and respect for our colleague and 
comrade who has passed over the river and rests imder 
the shade of the trees. 

The life of Charlks \V. Thompson is one to inspire 
and to lift up. Thrown upon his (jwn resources with 
an unfinished education at an early age, he rose to the 
height of even.' occasion. He met and solved every 
task ; he triinnphed over every difficulty. He turned 
his attention to business in a small town where oppor- 
tunities were few, and he sticceeded. The injunction, 
" Whatsover thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
might,"" he obeyed to a literal degree. 

Cut off as he was in the ver\- prime and flower of a 
young manhood, he had succeeded in a marked degree 
in public life. As a member for four years in the State 
.senate of Alabama he rendered able, conspicuous, and 
honorable .service to his State. Elected to this Congress 
in November, 1900, he ga\-e its duties here the .-^ame 
enthusiastic service which in ])ri\-ate life and in the 
State .senate had yielded such successful results. He had 
in a short period of three \ears accompli.shed much for 
the good of his people, and was making his impress felt 
upon national legislation. The life before him was full 
of promi.se and further u.scfulness. He was taken away 
in the verv prime of life, even Ijefore his lime. 

Xo remarks upon his memory would be complete 
without recording the deep religious side of his nature. 
A member in the best .standing of the Southern Methodist 
Church, his loss, I sincerely believe, was more widely 



Address of Mr. Bozvic, of Alahau/a 29 

felt h\ its ministers in Alabama than the loss of any 
of its lav members in recent years. It was well remarked 
bv one of his friends on the occasion of his funeral 
ser\-ices that his last public act in Alabama was to 
attend the conference of his church; and his last service 
in Washington was to attend services at the Mount \tr- 
non Methodist Church in this city. 

He died — I .shall not say without regret, but certainly 
without fear and without complaint. He had a strong 
and abiding faith, even the faith of a little child. He 
felt it was not death at all, but simply a change. That 
that which was mortal was laid down, and with it pain 
and strife, and struggle and turmoil. That in its place 
was the immortal, and with it came peace and the happi- 
ness which passeth all understanding. Truly " Blessed 
are thev who die in the Lord." 



30 Life and Character of C. If. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Smith, of Iowa 

Mr. vSi'EAKKR: Called one day to my western home, I 
bade Colonel Thompson good-by, leavin.o; him apparently 
in the full enjoyment of health. Reaching- \\\\ home I 
found the announcement of his death. 

I was deeply shocked, for I had known and loved him 
well. From the time that he came to Washington \\e 
dwelt under the same roof, and I had been a visitor at his 
home at Tuskegee. Gen. Lew Wallace, in Ben Hur, puts 
substantially these words into the mouth of Judith: 

There never was a people that did not tliink itself at least the equal of 
any other; never a great people that did not think itself the verv superior. 

Bearing this in mind, it is not to be wondered at that 
citizens thotigh we be of one common countr\- we are all of 
us inclined to look upon our particular section as the most 
fa\-ored in this land. 

Born as he was at about the time of the war between the 
States, Colonel Thompson bore no bitterness in his heart 
arising out of that strife. The estate of his famih- was 
well-nigh wrecked 1)\- that struggle, but Ire .set himself 
alxiut to build up the afTairs of his famih', and he .succeeded. 

He had, however, deeply embedded in him the con\ic- 
tions and the opinions of the peojile of his own section. 
His political allegiance was with that ])arty there dominant. 
His convictions upon the race pro])lcm were the cimvictious 
in large measure of his ])eopIe, and )ct he was br(_)ad enough 
to realize that if the South unisl forever keep the black 



Address of Mr. S/i/i/h, of hnca 31 

race there it was best for the South that all possible should 
be made of that race. 

During- his ser\-ice in the legislature of Alabama he did 
not lend his sanction to the doctrine that an>- human being 
is better for being ignorant, but gave his generous support 
to the doubling of State appropriations for the maintenance 
of the famous institution located at his home. 

While loval to every .southern .sentiment and loyal to 
every southern tradition, he was of that broad mold of 
Henr\- W. Grady, of whom it was .said that when he died 
he was literally loving the nation into peace. His death 
was premature, measured by earthly standards, and \et, 
measured bv his achievements, his life was longer than 
that of most men. 

His lo.ss was felt by all who knew him, though when I 

heard of it I could not but feel most deeph' for that dear, 

sweet-faced mother I had met in their home in Alabama. 

His sudden taking off is but another illu.stration of the 

fact that — 

There is not a wind that blow.s but brings with it some rainbow of 
promise. There is not a. moment that flies but the sickle in the field 
of hfe reaps its thousands with their joys and cares. 

Death was not feared by him. I never new a man of 
more simple and childlike Christian character. He came 
to this cit^• with deep-seated convictions upon the subject 
of moralit)- and religion, and without ostentatioush- adver- 
tising them he lived all his days here in strict harmony 
with them. 

Never did he depart from that standard of conduct which 
had been his in his little town at home. He went out of 



32 Life and Character of C. Jf\ T/iowpson 

life in the full faith that he was going to a better world 
beyond, and surely we ma}- join with him in that belief 



that- 



Though with bowed and breaking hearts, 
With sal)le garb and silent tread, 

We bear his senseless dust to rest. 
We know he is not dead. 



Address of Mr. T/iouias, of North Carolina ^t, 



Address of Mr. Thomas, of North Carolina 

i\Ir. Speaker : It is with feelings of profound sorrow 
and deep regret that I rise in this Chamber to pay a last 
sad tribute of respect to the memory or Charles Wix- 
STOX Thompson, and to lay upon his tomb in the fair 
State of Alabama, in our sunny Southland, my wreath of 
immortelles and my garland of flowers. Not only were 
the ties of friendship between myself and Charles W. 
Thompson strong, but the ties between North Carolinians 
and Alabamians, between the State of North Carolina and 
Alabama, are especially strong and numerous. ]\Iany of 
Alabama's citizens are of North Carolina descent. Some 
of North Carolina's citizens are of Alabama descent, 
including distinguished Representatives from both States 
upon this floor. The cities of Alabama, some of them, 
bear the names of our North Carolina cities. The names 
of Green.sboro and of Newbern, nn- home, are also the 
names of Alabama cities. 

Since Alabama was admitted into the Union in 1S19 
North Carolina has contributed largely to her population, 
and Alabama has honored many of North Carolina's sons. 
The distinguished William R. King, who was born in the 
county of Sampson, in ni>- Congressional district, and who 
formerly represented North Carolina in this House, after- 
wards represented Alabama in the United States Senate, 
and from that good State was sent as minister to France, 
H . Doc. 47S, 5S-3 3 



34 Life and Character of C. IV. Tliompson 

and became \'ice-President of the United States. There 
are now residing in Alabama many distinguished citizens 
of " Tar heel " ancestry ; many who have removed to that 
State from my State. Such men as Judge Thomas Ruffin 
Roulhac, United States district attorney ; the Hon. Hannis 
Taylor, minister to Spain under IMr. Cleveland's Adminis- 
tration, a native of Newbern, N. C, and manv other men 
eminent at the bar and in public life. Mr. Thompson 
himself bore the name of " Winston," a prominent North 
Carolina famih-, as well as of Alabama's beloved go\-einor, 
John A. \\'inston. These facts may account in part for 
my own attachment to Alabama people and to her late 
Representative whose memory we honor to-day. 

It is difficult, Mr. Speaker, for me to find appropriate 
language in which to express the shock and the .sadness 
which the news of the death of Ch.\rles \\'. Thompson 
caused me. Since I have been a Member of this body, the 
greatest parliamentary a.ssembly in the world, in the brief 
period of three terms of service here, I have .seen many of 
the nation's most eminent men, including a President and 
\'ice-President of the United States and great statesmen and 
political leaders, pass from the stage of action. The nation 
and the world have motirned their departure. But manv 
of these — yes, most of these — have vani.shed from the 
scenes of earthh- glory, honor, and triumphant success in 
the zenith of their fame and after many years of public 
service. 

Charles Wix.stox Thompson had just begun his ptiblic 
career. In private life he was a successful planter, banker, 
and business man, and had accumulated a large income. 



Address of Mr. Thomas, of North Carolina 35 

In his public life he had served Alabama in the State 
senate, but his political career here was just beginning; 
and his service in Congress was a stepping stone only to 
other honors, inchiding the governorship of his State, when, 
in a moment, suddenly and almost without warning, 

God's finger touched him and he slept. 

Coming in and going out among us in this Hall, sitting 
bv mv side during this Congress, full of life, hope, and 
happiness, looking forward eagerly, cheerfully, joyously 
into the future ; seeing there no shadows, onh- the bright 
sunlight of peace and success, and in the vista of the years 
only still wider avenues of business enterj^rise, still higher 
honors in public life, still greater joy in living; in apparent 
good health, death's poisoned shaft pierced him in a night, 
and after a brief struggle my friend succumbed to the in- 
evitable. He met with patient resignation and fortitude 
the divine decree ; he faced death bra\-eh-, and closing his 
eyes upon the changing scenes of earth fell asleep to awake 
in heaven's eternal morning. 

Closing his earthly career in his forty-fourth year, he 
had won success as a business man, an educator, a legis- 
lator, and a statesman, and in every capacity he was useful 
and honorable, and withal a Christian gentleman, popular 
with all classes and conditions of people in the commu- 
nitv in which he lived, and beloved b}' them all. 

We have often heard it .said that a man dies when his 
work in the world is finished. The work of Charles 
W. Thompson seemed just to have begun. Why was it 
not to be completed? Wherefore was the stateh- colunm 
broken? By what theory, what reason, what philosophy, 



36 Life and Character of C. H'. Thompson 

do you explain the sudden termination of a bright, happy, 
useful, and prosperous life? 

It is said that our friend contracted the disease by which 
he was stricken in attending devoutly the ser\-ices of his 
church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Where- 
fore, while evil men continue to live and flourish, should 
a good man die? These are questions constanth' recurrinp- 
when death strikes down a good man at our side; ques- 
tions as old as the everlasting hills, as the philosophies 
of ancient times, as the teachings of the heathen philoso- 
phers, Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, as old as human life 
itself, yet ever new and recurring like the m\-sterv of 
death. The .stoic answers, "We know not; let us endure" 
without comi)laint."' The epicurean answers, "We know 
not; life is brief, its ills are many, and .so while we live 
let us live." The Christian answers, " It is the divine 
will, and we bow to the di\ine decree." 

Whate\-er ma\" be the solution of this great m\-ster\- and 
the an.swer to these questions, we can find no comfort when 
one whom we love and esteem meets an untimeh- end 
except in the thotight that God, who controls the imiverse, 
who holds in the hollow of His hand the oceans, who 
counts the sands upon the .seashore and mnnbers the stars 
of heaven, and yet who marks the flight and fall of the 
sparrow, knows what is best and does it; and though His 
di\inc decrees are immutable and my.sterious, yet they affect 
men and nations alike and are the decrees of a loving 
Father. 

Mr. Speaker, I am a ])redestinarian. I believe not that 
what is to be will be, but that when (iod wills, howe\-er 



Address of Mr. Thomas, of North Carolina 37 

initimeh- it may appear to us, then must events transpire 
and changes come in the lives of men and nations, and that 
His divine will is best. 

The poet Whittier, in that grand poem "The eternal 
goodness," imagines some beautiful islands of the sea, 
unreal and far distant, which are full of beautiful flowers 
and rare exotics and joy and peace and sunshine, where it 
would be ecstacy mereh- to exist. Realizing the sin, the 
suffering, passions, changes, and chances of this mortal life, 
he longs for these beautiful islands of rest. He can not dis- 
cover them, and so he patiently waits b\- the shore and lis- 
tens for the sound of the muffled oar of the boat which is to 
bear him across the ocean's billows. He turns to his faith 
in the eternal goodness of God, exclaiming: 

I know not where His islands lift 

Their fronded palms in air; 
I onh- know I can not drift 

Beyond His love and care. 

It is said that "death loves a shining mark." Cer- 
tainly in the sudden death of Mr. Thomp.son was this 
exemplified. Successful, surrounded by friends, of good 
habits, and with the brightest pro.spects, the grim destroyer 
selected an illustrious victim. His aim was sure, swift, 
and deadh', and before we realized that the end was near, 
and although the most skillful medical aid in the coun- 
tn.- was summoned to his bedside, almost without warning 
his spirit winged its flight into the great be}-ond. The 
pale boatman, with his muffled oar, bore him acro.ss the 
waters to those beautiful isles of the sea upon whose 
shores break forever and forever the wa\-es of eternit\-. 

Charles W. Thompson possessed besides a knowledge 



38 Life and Character of C. JI'. Thompson 

and aptitiide for business and politics a keen appreciation 
of all that Avas good, true, and beautiful in the world. 
He had a refinement and .sensibility which led him to 
love and admire the best in art, literature, nature, and 
mankind. His .soul abhorred \-ice and impurity of speech. 
He thought no evil ; he believed good of evervone. He 
had a cheerful optimism, a wi.se conservatism, a belief 
in God and humanity-, and a love for his fellow-men; a 
rare combination of qualities which made him popular 
with men of all parties and creeds. In Congress his 
career and speeches were especially notable in their pur- 
pose to endeavor to unite all sections of our common 
country and to obliterate all sectional feeling. He ap- 
pealed for just consideration and accurate knowledge of 
the South and .southern conditions. 

In an eloquent speech which he made upon southern 
war claims, in which he urged the repeal of the fourth 
section of the Bowman Act, which bars the great bulk 
of southern claims for supplies furnished to or taken h\ 
Federal forces in the ci\-il war, because it makes the 
claimant's loyalty to the United States Government dur- 
ing that war essential to the validit}- of his claim, ]\Ir. 
Thomp.son made an earnest plea for the whole people 
of the South, for reconciliation and peace between all 
sections (.>f the conntr)-, and showed the gross injustice of 
northern parti,sans in believing and treating the South as 
still disloyal to the I'nion. 

I quote one paragraph from that speech. Mr. Thompson 
said: 

SoutlienuTs .-irc as good citizens of tlie L'niieil .Slates to-da_v as are the 
Northerners, and they should be treated as such by our laws. Our supplies 



Address of Mr. Tlwmas., of Nortli Carolina 39 

were taken and used by the officers of the Government, and should be paid 
for. The South does her full share of the fighting for the Union. She 
does her full share of the work of the country. She bears her full share 
of the burdens of the country. She pays her full share of the $150,000,000 
paid in pensions each year for Union soldiers. She is striving equallv 
with the North for the honor, welfare, and advancement of the whole 
country. The two sections are in perfect unity, peace, and concord each 
with the other, and all acts inconsistent with this so desirable condition of 
affairs should be forthwith repealed. Think of the heroes of Georgia, 
Virginia, and the Carolinas in the Revolutionary war; the men who, 
almost starved, barefooted, and in rags, baffled the hosts of British regu- 
lars and won from them an unnumbered series of brilliant victories under 
Sumter and Marion. Remember the exploits of the Southerners under 
Andrew Jackson in the war of 1S12, under Scott and Taylor in the Mexi- 
can war, and remember that when the Spanish war broke out the South- 
ern Confederate veterans and their sons sprang with one accord to the 
defense of the Stars and Stripes and fought for the flag on sea and land 
with unsurpassed bravery and vigor. The man who held the fort at 
Habana was a Southerner and a nephew of Robert E. Lee. The first one 
to fall in that war was a Southerner, sealing his devotion to the Union 
with his heart's blood. 

Such sentinient.s as these indicate the patriotic spirit 
of Ch.\rles W. Thomp.son. Mourned h\ his friends, 
the connnunity in which he was reared and lived, the 
constituency by whom he was beloved and twice elected 
to Congress, and b>- all the citizens of Alabama, the 
bod\- of Charles W. Thompson has returned to the 
dust of his native State and his brave and kindly soul 
to the God who gave it. Ma}- he rest in peace in Ala- 
bama's soil, there to await the resurrection morning and 
the "rising of the Sun of righteousness with healing in 
his winofs." 



40 Life and Character of C. 11'. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Rainey, of Illinois 

Mr. vSpkakkr: The power of a great nation does not 
depend alone upon armies and fleets and the extent of its 
territory, but upon the honesty and worth and enthusiasm 
of its citizens. Tlie material progress of a country depends 
to a large extent upon tlic integTitv of the men who are 
elected to jiublic office. 

Cii.\RLES WixSTOx Thompson believed alwa\s in the 
idea that a public office is a ptiblic trust, which must 
always be administered with the same appreciation of the 
responsibilities invoh-ed as is required in the transaction 
of the ordinary business affairs of life. 

As a Member of the Congress of the I'nited States and 
in all the minor political offices he at various times filled 
he discharged his duties honesth-, faithfully, and fearlessly, 
and with the .same zeal and integrity that alwaA's charac- 
terized his tran.sactions in the numerous business acti\-ities 
in which he was engaged. 

He brought with him to this Hou.se all the enthusiasm 
of his \oung manhood. He has left here the impress of a 
strong, maul)- personalit\-. Upon such men as Ch.a.rles 
Winston Thompson depends, to a large extent, the wel- 
fare and material progi'ess of our comitr\-. 

He was born in the Southland wlien the two .sections of 
our countr>- were contending in the greatest ci\-il war the 
world ever saw. He lived out his young manhood sur- 
rounded by the e\-idence of the changed and constantly 



Address of Mr. Rahicy, of Illinois 41 

clmnjring conditions brought about by that conflict. The 
traditions of centuries had been destroyed. The labor sys- 
tem of great States had been overturned. 

Amid the chaos \vhicli followed the war he grew to 
manhood. Living in the center of the "black belt" of 
Alabama, he had opportunities for the study of .social con- 
ditions such as were presented to but few men. Fighting 
always, even in earh- youth, with a manful courage the 
battle of life, he .soon learned to appreciate fully the diffi- 
culties which presented themselves in the attempt to solve 
the race problem in the South. 

His material affairs pro.spered, and he was able to give 
nuich time to the study of this most important question. 
He made it his life work. The locality in which he lived 
was pecnliarh- fitted to develop in him the ideas he sought 
to impress upon Congress and upon the country. 

The emancipation of the negro had left that race large!)- 
preponderating in his .section. On account of this fact 
the great Tuskegee Institute was located there. This great 
institution, officered b\- negroes, has been successfully 
striving to uplift the race by training them in the indu.s- 
trial occupations. He was in entire sympath\- with this 
work and rendered at all times valuable a.ssistance. 

Here in the \-illage of Tuskegee he resided during all 
the vears of his life. He has contributed much toward the 
solution of this great economic problem. 

He was loved b\' all who knew him. His bright, cheer- 
ful disposition made him armies of friends wherever he 
went, among both the white and the black races. 

Sun.shiiie was lie in ihe winter day, 
.\nil in the sinnnier, coolness and shade. 



42 Life and Character of C. IT. Thompson 

He was an lionest, conscientious, entlinsiastic, forceful 
man of action, al\va\s in the full possession of all his 
faculties. vSuch a man is the ,f,^randest object this world 
ever exhibits. To use the words of a great American 
orator, " The heavens in their magnificence, the ocean in 
its sublime immensity, mountains standing firm upon their 
granite foundations, all are less imposing than a living 
man in the possession of his highest faculties." 

We ha\-e assemliled here to-da}' to do honor to the 
memory of an honest, thoughtful man, who in his lifetime 
was a potent factor in the solution of great economic 
questions. vSuch a man while he lives is an inspiration 
to all who come within the sphere of his influence — 

.^iid wlifii he dies he leaves a loftv name; 
.V Hijht, a landmark on the cliffs of fame. 

The work he attempted to do can not be arrested b\- the 
cold hand of death. He started into forceful motion activ- 
ities which will not stop with his death. Fifteen hundred 
years ago barbarians attempted to remove from the earth 
the influence of Athenian sculpture and the\' mutilated and 
buried the old Greek statues; but these great works of art 
live again, and during all the centuries have "kissed into 
being with their cold lips of marble" successive genera- 
tions (if artists, who ha\-e made the \\-orld e\-er more beau- 
tiful and luu'e de\-eloped and u])lifted human itleals. 

Such a man as Ch.\rlk.s Wix.stox Tho.mp.sox lights up 
this old cheerless world and glorifies all he tindertakes 
with bright hues l^rought down from hea^■en. 

He was a true son of the Southland. He loved her 
history and her traditions; beloved the locality in which 
he was born and had alwa\s li\ed. 



Address of Mr. Raiiny, of ll/iiiois 43 

He loved the flowers and the bright skies and the sing- 
ing birds of his native State. He loved her almost per- 
petual snnnner, her balmy breezes, and her broad smiling 
landscapes. He loved the people who live there — young 
and old, white and black; he loved them all, and they 
loved him. 

Death came in the full flush of youthful manhood, when 
for him the sun was still .shining in the eastern sk\- and 
had not N'ct approached the meridian. Death is always 
.sad, but it is less sad when the shadows of evening are 
o-athering, and when a man has lived out the years of his 
mature manhood and is entering upon the infirmities of 
old age. 

He died here in this capital at his post of duty, a victim 
to the severitv of an unusualh- cold winter in Washington. 
I was one of the Members of this body who accompa- 
nied his remains to his native village. As the long train 
moved swiftly across parallels of latitude we soon began to 
realize that we had left behind us the land of snow and 
cold and were entering upon the sunn\- Southland. 

I shall never forget the impressive scene which followed 
our arrival in his native village. The night was not far 
advanced, and from miles around his old friends had come 
to pay their tribute to his memory. 

I can see yet the long procession up the \-illage street, 
the heartfelt grief of his famih- and of the friends of his 
own race, the long lines of black men and women who 
stood respectfully, with uncovered heads, as we passed. 

It was glorious springtime in the Southland. The air 
was laden with the fragrance of flowers; from the orchards 



44 I''f<' ii»<^ C liaractrr of C. Jl '. Thompson 

came the song of the inockinj^ bird. It was the season he 
lo\-e(l best. Ch.\ri.ie Thompson' had come home — back 
to the country he loved and to the people who loved him. 
We covered his grave with flowers and left him there in 
the land he loved, under the blue sky of his native State, 
where the flowers bloom and the bird.s sing and the balmy 
breezes forever blow from the southern gulf. 



Address of Mr. 'Biinui/, of A/alnriiut 45 



Address of Mr. Burnett, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: When Chari.es Winston Thompson's 
spirit took its flig-ht from earth the world was poorer b\- 
its loss and heaven was richer by its oaiu. 

I had known IMr. Thompson for several >-ears before he 
was elected to the Fifty-seventh Congress, but we resided 
in different portions of the vState, and my acquaintance 
with him was not intimate. 

When he came to Congress our relations became closer, 
and I soon saw that in the noble heart of Charlie 
Thomp.SON the storehouse of friendship was inexhaustible 
and the love of humanity was without stint or limit. 

There was nothing small or mean in this good man's 
nature, (yod wrote upon his very brow the record of an 
honest man, a lo>-al heart, and a noble soul. 

He came on during that period just after that terrible 
civil war, when southern homes were laid waste and 
povertv and distress stalked o\-er our beloved State. He 
came from this school of adversit>-, rising step by step 
till he stood before his countrymen an example of what 
pluck, energy, industry, and honesty can do. 

Mr. Speaker, the life and character and success of 
Charlie Thompson ought to be an inspiration to the 
poor boys of our land. No pampered son of fortune was 
he, but from middle life and without the advantages 
of a college education he rose to be the succes.sful busi- 
ness man, the splendid Representative, and the honored 



46 Life and C/iaractcr of C. Jf. Tlionipson 

Christian gentleman. His snccessfnl life shows to our 
struggling boys and young men that in free America 
there is no royal road to success, but that the door of 
opportunit\' is open to all alike. 

It shows that in this grand Government of ours the 
plowboy upon the mountains of Alabama may reach the 
highest niche in the temple of honor, while the spoiled 
child of fortune ma\' die in the gutter. It shows that 
perseverance and honest toil, aided by pluck and good 
judgment, have their just reward. 

Ivive.s of great men all reniind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 
And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time- 
Footprints, that perhaps another. 
Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
>Seeing shall take heart again. 

But when success and honor came to Mr. THOMPSON he 
was not one who forgot the authors of his promotion. His 
heart was ever turning back to the htnnble homes of his 
jjeople and he was never happier than when sounding the 
praises of those who were struggling to keep the wolf from 
the door. 

How often is it, Mr. vSpeaker, that promotion and ci\'ic 
honors spoil those upon whom they are bestowed? That 
man has a cramped and narrow soul indeed who when 
honors are .showered upon him forgets, the people from 
whom the\- came. Xn man who has a grateful heart will 
ever do it, and CharliK Tho.aip.SO.N" was not the man 
whom success made bigger or better than his humblest 
constituent. 



Address of Mr. Burnett, of Alabama 47 

The one great predominating characteristic of the heart 
of j\Ir. Thompson was his love of humanity. His broad 
soul knew no "pent-up Utica," but the world was his field, 
and the l^etterment of mankind was his prime object in life. 

He loved the South and Alabama with all the deep 
affection of a devoted child for its mother, and yet his 
broad soul leaped beyond vState borders and sectional lines 
and embraced even those who were his political adversaries. 

This was illustrated during his first term in Congress, 
when he invited and secured se\-eral :\Iembers of Congress 
and other distinguished gentlemen .and ladies from the 
North to go with him, and at his expense, to his belo\-ed 
Southland that the\- might see the colored man as he is 
and meet the southern white man in his own hospitable 
home. 

This excursion co.st him over $1,000, and yet with no 
reo-rets did he ever contemplate it, as he realized that by this 
method his people became better known and better under- 
stood by those who knew little of conditions in the South. 

Mr. Thoiipsox was a devoted member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church South, and he was one among many 
other Members of Congress who brought his religion and 
his Christian life with him to Washington. He and I 
attended the same church in this city, and with myself 
and family he sat in the same pew and in the same class 
at Sunday school. For our teacher we had that noble 
Christian Alabamian, Judge Chambers, and vSunday after 
Sunday have I seen the countenance of our departed friend 
lighted with a sacred fire as he listened to the teachings of 
this man of God. 



48 Life and Character of C. II \ Thompson 

Mr. Thomi'SON had, by dint of his untiring energy and 
the exercise of his good judgment, accuniuhited a hand- 
some fortune, as that term goes in the South ; yet his purse 
strings were never tied against the calls of charity, human- 
ity, or religion, and in eternity many a soul whose earthly 
wants he had relieved will rise up to call him blessed. 

His life was a sweet benediction to his friends, and when 
death claimed him it left an aching void in the hearts of 
all who knew him. 

As a citizen, as a business man, as a representative in 
the State senate and in the halls of Congress, as a dutiful 
son and a loving father, and as a Christian gentleman, he 
measured up to the ideal standard of the noblest work of 
God. He died, as he had li\-ed, with a heart full of ]o\e 
for God and his fellow-man. To lho.se about him in the 
hour and article of death he declared his perfect readine.ss 
to meet the future. Without a doubt or a shadow ho\-er- 
ing about him, he stepped otit into eternit\', prepared to 
meet and face his God. 

In the prime of a hopeful, successful, amlutious manhood 
he was called hence, and about his seat in this House and 
over his silent tomb there hovers the sweet recollections 
of a beautiful life. Tender and gentle as a woman, his 
heart e\'er beat responsive to the calls of humanity. Win- 
is such a heart chilled by the ic\' touch of death, and 
such a s]Mril removed by the relentless hand of fate? 
He ^\■lu) (loelh all tilings well alone can answer these 
.solemn qviestions, and can tell His mystericnis reasons for 
thus chastening our hearts and the hearts of his family. 
To our narrow visions it is strange and in.scrutable. 



Address of Mr. Burnett, of Alabama 49 

Just as he was reachiii.t;- that period in life and public 
sen-ice when he could have done most for his people 
and for humanit\- our friend is snatched away, and we 
are left to gaze into the great beyond and wonder why 
"'twas thus." Such afiflictions as this are often sent 
athwart our pathway to remind us that in the ver\- 
midst of life we are in death, and to sound the note of 
warning — "prepare to meet thy God." 

But his was a life well spent and crowned with good 
works and noble deeds. To his devoted Christian mother 
he left the memory of a dutiful son. To his children he 
left the heritage of an honest name and an unsullied 
character. To the church he left the wealth of a Chris- 
tian life and the example of a Christian death. 

To his people he left the record of a patriotic citizen 
and a faithful Representative. May the example of his 
life ever inspire his colleagues and friends to an earnest 
emulation of his \-irtues, and as we go forth from this 
solemn occasion may the recollection of Charlie 
Thompson fall ever as a beacon light upon the pathway 
of us who knew him and loved him. As the springtime 
flowers are laid by hands of a tender, loving mother 
upon the new-made grave of her departed bo\-, we point 
her to the bright spirit of that boy beckoning her and 
his children to follow him to the land of joy, and 
assure her that her grief is not as that of one who has 
no hope of future bliss, for, in the poet's words — 

The Healer is there, and His arms are around. 

And He leads them with tenderest care; 
And He shows them a star in that bright upper world, 

'Tis their star shining brilliantly there. 
H. Doc. 47S, 58-3 4 



5© Life and Character of C. W. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 

Mr. Speaker: Once more an angel messenger delivered 
his message to the House of Representatives, and the 
late Charles \V. Thompson responded and took his 
departure. \\'e ha\'e assembled upon this holy Sabbath 
afternoon to speak a word of just tribute to his memory 
and his works. He and I entered Congress at the begin- 
ning of the Fift}--seventh Congress. During that Congress 
I only knew him as a ^lember of the House. In the 
Fifty-eighth Congress we were assigned to work upon the 
Banking and Currenc}- Committee, and there I knew him 
better and had more association with him. 

In speaking of him to-day, however, I .shall speak less 
of what I know nn'self and more of what those who knew 
him Ijetter and had had longer association with him testi- 
fied to his worth and his merits; to speak that impressson 
that he made upon me and what I believed he was, in 
truth and in fact. First of all, I desire to .sa\- that he was 
a man of deep religious conviction. To .sa\- that he was 
a member of the church is not enough. True, he was a 
devoted member of the church, but there is more than 
church membership. In his heart, in his .soul, iu his 
being there was a deep, earnest con\'iction of liis dut\-, 
his obligations, and his relatinnship to his (lod. He 
believed in the fatherhood of God, not abstractly, not 
.simi)ly that God was the Creator in the abstract of all 



Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 51 

thino;s, but in the concrete that he was the Father of the 
human race. 

It is a good thing, Mr. Speaker, to lodge in the human 
heart a belief in the fatherhood of God, and Charles \V. 
Thompson had a deep and earnest and sincere con\-iction 
in this belief, and this belief made itself manifest in his 
life, in his conduct, and in his character. Again, ]\Ir. 
Speaker, he was a man of broad humanitarian sympathies. 
All of us have our sympathies, all of us have our charitable 
thoughts, our kindly affections, our lo\e for our friends, 
but there is more in life, there is more in .sympathy 
than affection for an indi\'idual or kindness to a par- 
ticular person. 

There is a breadth, there is a broadness, there is a com- 
prehensiveness in sympathy that reaches out and touches 
humanity, and Ch.\rles \V. Thompson had that sympathy. 
He believed in the brotherhood of man. He touched 
elbows with humanity ; his heart responded to the n(.il)le 
sentiments, the deep sympathy, the abiding confidence in 
the integrity, in the worth, and in the merit of humanit\-, 
and it was this belief, it was this broad humanitarian s\-m- 
pathy inspiring his life that interprets and sheds light upon 
his character and upon his worth as a man, as a citizen, and 
as a legislator. 

He was also a successful man in the material business 
affairs of life, a man of sobriety, a man of energ\-, a man of 
industry, a man who properly and wisely appreciated the 
virtues that enter into and constitute the elements of life 
and of character. He did not beljeve that character was 



52 Life and Character of C. W. Thompson 

a haphazard matter, IsiU he realized that it was constituted 
of elements, essential elements without which life was a 
failure, and that these elements of character were the 
virtues of life, and he put these virtues into practice. 

He was not satisfied simply to believe in virtues, in the 
elements of character in the abstract, but he had a desire 
and an ambition to exemplify and illustrate these virtues in 
his daily walk, in his conversation, in the mode and the 
manner of his livintr and movino- among; men. As the 
result of this he enjoyed the confidence, the love, and 
the respect of the people of his home land and of his col- 
leagues and as.sociates in this Chamber. I shall not dwell 
upon that. Others who knew him longer and had 
associated more with him ha\-e borne witness to that 
phase of his life. 

Let me only add that a man moved by such impulses, 
inspired by such inspirations, knew and realized and 
proved that " life is more than meat and the bod\' is 
more than raiment." 

I was one of the committee of this House appointed 
to attend his funeral at his home in Alabama. The 
esteem and respect of the people of his native State was 
indeed a beautiful and inspiring tribute to his worth and 
a noble monument to his memor\'. 

In the midst of life death came to him, and he left us; 
and we stand here to-day asking ourselves why. Is death 
the end? If .so, our aspirations are barren ; our inspira- 
tions are fruitless. If death is the end, wlu' should we 
cultivate the intellect to sweep out o\'er a universe, to 



Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 53 

gather in the knowledge and the glor\- and grandenr of 
creation? If death is the end, why shonkl we fill onr 
hearts with the inspirations of love? Why should we 
link and bind our lives with the ties of friendship and 
hallowed association if it all comes to naught? If death 
is the end, whv should we not seek only to gratify that 
within the grasp of our senses? 

It is standing in the contemplation of scenes like this, 
in the shadow of lives like that of ■Mr. Thompson, that 
we can rise in the dignity of manhood, in the glory of 
such a character, and sa\\ " I know that my Redeemer 
liveth and that after this life I shall see God." 

'Tis life, not death, 1 crave ; more life, richer life, 
would I have. Here in this life, hemmed in b\- the 
senses, able to communicate only through the limited 
and narrow channels and avenues of sense ; over there, 
untrammeled b^■ the limitations of our physical senses in 
the life which he enjox'S, we are in touch with the eter- 
nities — the eternities of time, the eternities of space, the 
eternities of opportunit\-, the eternities of accomplishment. 
Oh, the little time that is allowed us here, when our 
ambitions, our calculations, our aims, and our purposes 
are cut short as illustrated b\- the life of this man ! 
Encompassed by the limitations of time, the limitations 
of space, our sphere of action is .so narrow we can extend 
our associations and friend.ships and obligations and duties 
only over a little territor\-. 

Here opportunity, it is said, comes to us once onh-, 
and then it seems that we accomplish in the full, rounded. 



54 I-ifi' ^iid Character of C. If. Thompson 

perfected sense so little. Is it not a conifort, as we 
measure life and character b}- such a standard as the life 
and character of this man, to find consolation in the 
thono-ht of the life beyond, in the eternities of our oppor- 
tunities and our accomplishments? \'erily, these are the 
grandeur and the glorj- and the power of life. 



Address of Mr. Scarborough, of South Carolina 55 



Address of Mr. Scarborough, of South Carolina 

Air. Speaker: Some one has trnthfully said : " It is a 
pious office to scattei sweets o\-er the tonilj of departed 
worth." For that purpose we are met to-day. Charles 
W. Thompson is no longer a Member of this great 
American Congress, but his comrades on both sides of 
this Chamber esteem it a melancholy pleasure to turn from 
acrimoniotis debate and place among the archives of the 
second session of the Fifty-eighth Congress their testi- 
monials as to the character and wor'Ji of the lamented 
dead. 

The death of our friend is another startling proof of the 
uncertaint\- of life. Neither exalted jiosition nor wealth 
furni.sh anv immunity again.st this dread visitation. ( )ur 
friend had both, but in spite of that, and in .spite of the 
services of skilled physicians, Charles W. Thompson 
heard a call that he could not disobey; his spirit passed 
bevond the shadows and mists of time, and his body 
sleeps in the land of his birth, where from day to da\- his 
dust^■ couch is watered b\- the tears of generous love. 

I met Mr. Thompson at the opening of the Fifty- 
seventh Congress. We took the oath of office at the 
same time, I believe, lived at the same hotel, and .sat 
near each other in this Hall. So I had some opportunity 
of knowing him. 

I believe there is no life in which a man more surely 
makes his own place and maps out his own course than 



56 Life and Character of C. ^V. Thompson 

ill this body. As some one remarked here in debate a few 
days ago, it matters not what a man may have been at 
home, no matter what social or political distinctions he 
may have won in some other arena, or what ability he 
ma\- have shown in some other fornm, when he becomes 
a Member of the House of Representatives he will be 
judged by the record he makes here. 

Mr. Thompson attracted men not b\- brilliant speech 
or self-assertiveness, but rather by his gentleness and con- 
servatism. He was a manh- man. His was a bright 
face that wore a cheers- smile, sure token of a genial, 
happy disposition, and a mind that entertained high ideals. 
The world is a mirror that reflects back our own image. 
Smile, and it smiles at you ; weep, and it shows a tearful 
countenance. Changing the figure, some one has said 
that the world is a savings bank from which we can 
draw out only what we piU in. Xo wonder, then, that 
our dead friend saw love and beauty and joy and glad- 
ness in the world, and wore a smile and had a heart\- 
hand shake for those he met. He was in love with the 
world around him and with his fellow-men, and the 
world was in lo\e with Mr. Thompson'. He gave to his 
fellow-men the warmth of his sunny nature and they 
paid him back in his own coin. 

As a legislator he was studious and purpo.seful. His 
ambition was to do right. A Southerner, he was tvpical 
of that section — loyal to its traditions and proud of its 
history. But he was not provincial ; he was an American 
and lo\ed the whole Union. As a business man he was 
unusual h- successful, and \'et he was neither a bigot nor 



Address of Mr. Scarbormigh^ of South Cnro/iiia 57 

a Slnlock. He ga\-e his jtoocIs to feed the poor, and was 
delighted to be a steward of his Lord's mone>-. 

I had the honor of being one of the Congressional escort 
that went with his body to his much-loved Alabama home. 
It was a sad mission. The immense concourse of people, 
representing all classes and conditions, that followed his 
body to the grave was an eloquent tribute to his worth, 
and showed the esteem in which he was held by his 
neighbors. Only two weeks before he had told friends 
and loved ones good-by, after a brief visit to his home, 
and had, in apparently perfect health, resumed his duties 
here. Life seemed to spread out before him and years 
beckoned him forward, but he fell in the zenith of his 
manlv strength, with the .sun of life at hiijh meridian. 
Measured by the highest standard of manhood, his life 
was not so short after all, for "he lives longest who lives 
best." 

Let me speak briefly now of the most striking phase of 
Mr. Thompsox'.s character. He was not ashamed of the 
gospel of Christ and esteemed it an honor to be reckoned 
among the children of God. 

The average man can easily conform to the requirements 
of the moral law at home, surrounded by Christian influ- 
ences, but man\' men become lax in the observance of 
religious duty when the}- come to the capital and go with 
the multitude to do evil. Not .so with our departed friend. 
We are told that the first Sunda>- after he arrived in 
Washington, at the opening of the Fifty-.seventh Congress, 
he went to the church of his choice, the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church vSouth, put him.self under the charge of the 



58 Life and Character of C. IV. Thompson 

pastor, and then, Sunday after wSunday, when in Washing- 
ton, he was found among the worshipers. Xo, he was not 
ashamed to be called a Christian. 

When the shadows lengthened and the death dews 
settled on his pallid brow he told the minister, "I am not 
afraid to die." Who does not env\- such heroism? 

The great and wise of earth ha\'e weighed the planets, 
measured their orbits, and determined their re\-olutions ; 
but none have been able to rai.se the .shadows that hang 
around the tomb or .say where will rest the soul when freed 
from this mortal casket. 

And yet our friend, soothed and sustained h\ an unfal- 
tering trust in God, ajiproached the King of Terrors in this 
final conflict and was not afraid. 

He had heard "songs in the silence," and the God whom 
he had served forsook him not in that hour. Crowns and 
coronets, .scepters and robes of ofiice give no guaranty 
against the icy touch of death or an\- title to rest and home 
and life and jo}- beyond the grave. But in spite of wealth 
and high position and the .seductive influences of official 
life, our friend had found the " open sesame." 

Pqace, peace, sweet peace, 

Wonderful gift from above — 
Oh, wonderful, wonderful peace, 

Sweet peace, the gift of God'.s love. 



Address of Mr. Ric/iardsoii, of Alabama 59 



Address of Mr. Richardson, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: The simple tribute that I sorrowfully pay 
to-day to the memory of Charles Winston Thompson is 
the sincere offering of my heart to a friend whom I 
honored and loved, and around his vacant seat on the floor 
of the House tenderly clings the loving memory of admir- 
ing friends. 

At his home in Alabama, where he was ])orn and reared, 
and where everv opportunity was offered to study and learn 
his private and public life, it was there, and among those 
people, that the sudden ending of his useful and hopeful 
life was most deplored. They had watched him as he 
walked in and out before them, and they saw in his life the 
slow and gradual construction of a character that illustrates 
and t\-pifies human nature in its highest forms. 

It was not Mr. Tiio.mpson's brilliancy of intellect or 
power of eloquence that challenged and .secured the confi- 
dence and love of those who admired him, but it was the 
strength, heroism, truth, honest)-, and \-irtue of his private 
and public life — his character — that made him the man we 
knew him to be. Armed as he was with these noble traits, 
he defied temptations and fought the great battle of life 
with honor and credit, whether the struggle came from 
within or without. 

Mr. Thompson was a faithful and conscientious repre- 
sentati\-e of the true interests and welfare of the people 
whose commission he bore in the halls of Congress. 



6o Life and Character of C. H'. Tliompson 

His standard of work and dut\' was the same in pnblic 
as it was in private life. He knew no compromise, no 
hesitancy, when risfht and principle were involved. He 
was genial and social in his interconrse with his friends, 
alwaj's thonghtfnl and considerate of the views and feel- 
ings of others, and his heart was fnll of lo\'e and S)'mpathy 
for his fellow-man. His life is a splendid exposition of 
those quiet, guiding precepts and principles which consti- 
tute the highest and best type of our citizen.ship. He 
crowned it all with a modest but a sublime Christian faith 
that easih" stripped death of all terror to him. 

I can not, Mr. vSpeaker, close these few remarks without 
referring to Mr. Thompson's views and feelings on his 
broad and patriotic love of his countn.-. It was no surprise 
to me, knowing him so well and intimateh- as I did, that a 
man of his methodical life and high busine.ss qualifications 
and mind was absoluteh- free from the touch of sectional 
feeling. He was in all matters a fervent southern man. 
He loved the vSouth with all its splendid memories and tra 
ditions. He honored our heroes, but he yearned in his 
heart to see the once bitter memories coming from the 
great civil war forever buried and forgotten. And his life 
by act and precept encouraged this happy consummation. 



Address of Mr. Bank/iead, of Alabama 6i 



Address of Mr. Bankhead, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: Charles Winston Thompson, whose 
most inscrutable remo\al from among us we pause now to 
consider, was of a generation and of a part of our country 
which furnishes an interesting, and should be a most in- 
structi\x-, tA-pe in the study of the composite people who 
constitute the citizenship of this great Reiiublic. He was 
born in Alabama in i860. He was an Alabamian, a South- 
erner by birth, by heritage, by association, b\- sympathy, by 
impulse, and with purpose. He was born at a time when the 
Republic was on the verge of a convulsion of passion such 
as never before rent a national family into tragic dissension. 
He was of blood that was shed for liis State and section. 
His childhood was spent in the little town in the heart of 
Alabama and in the heart of the Southern States which 
formed one side of the divided family of the nation. The 
blight of poverty, all the worst wreckage of that awful con- 
flict of four years, was in evidence before his child eyes. 
He uuist needs, as his mind developed and his character 
formed, have been deeph- impressed with all that he heard 
and all that he saw as to what home life meant, what com- 
munity interest implied, what pride of State signified, and 
what love of country inspired. 

It is not possible to conceive that in this little southern 
conuuuuit\- in Tuskegee, in the heart of hearts of South- 
ern States, where was rocked the cradle of secession, that 



62 Life and Character of C. II'. Tlio)npson 

Charlie Thompson, as a boy, could have heard a sin- 
gle sentiment that was contran- to devotion to home, to 
State, and to the South, for which his kinsmen and his 
neighbors fought, as they believed, for the preservation of 
the high, loft\-, and humane principles upon which the 
Republic was founded. There could not have been, in 
the vePi- nature of his home life, his childhood, his \outh, 
his \oung manhood, one marring voice of sensible utter- 
ance that reflected harshly tipon the valor, the virtue, and 
the integrity of the moti\-es of the South in the national 
family strife. Yet we all do know that when Ch.^rles 
W'lXS'Pox Tho:mpsox died in the blo.ssom of manhood and 
the ripening fruitage of manful strength there died as pure 
an .Vmerican patriot as has lived between boundar}- lines 
of land or far-apart ocean shores. He not only felt it, 
but he proved it, as we all know. 

Successful from a humble beginning far bevond the suc- 
cess of many with better opportunities, helping others all 
along the way of his advancement, taking them with him 
\-)\ strength of hand and cheer of hope, no man in his com- 
munitv was before him in its confidence, its affection, and 
its respect. Nece.ssarily his influence in any enterprise or 
measure for general effect in that comninnit\' was unques- 
tioned and uuciuestionable. Alabaniian and vSoiUherner as 
he was in hal)it, accent, s\-mpath\-, a.s.sociation, and edu- 
cation, that little southern comnninit\' never heard from 
CiiARi.ii': Thompsox'.S lips nor divined from his acts any- 
thing that was not briunning with the broadest patriotism. 
He thought nuicli — probabl\- most — of the genuine good 
of a realK united connlrw He did not pause with the 



Address of Mr. Paiikliead, of Alabaiun 63 

inchilgence of sentiments pleasing to liis moments of 
amiable reflection. He went to work, took pains, spent 
inonev he had earned in many a da\- of self-denial to bring 
abont a better, saner, sounder, kindlier feeling between 
representati\-e people of the North and South. He took 
them to his home and did them honor. 

He .showed them a community in which all' interests and 
all races lived and worked together for good and progress. 
He showed them the most wonderful educational institu- 
tion for the advancement of a people lately emerged from 
slaverv e\-er placed upon the surface of the earth. He 
showed that institution, might)' for good, a school for the 
training of negroes, respected and flourishing, progres.s- 
ive and productive, among southern white people. He 
showed them beyond cavil that truer friends of the negro 
did not li\'e in the world than here in the heart of Ala- 
bama, in the heart of hearts of the Southland. Ha\-ing 
done, that, can there be any sort of respectable question 
anvwhere that Ch.\rles Winston Thompson has done a 
great good for his people, for his State, for his section, and 
for his country ? Cut off as he was in the very blossom of 
this noble generositv of purpose, we can but poignantly 
deplore his death. Yet gratefully shall we contemplate 
his memor\- for this great good that he has done. He 
deserved of the richest of the beatitudes pronounced for 
acts of men for the good of their fellow-men. 

No respecter of fame or fortune belonging to any man, 
death has not hesitated to strike at palatial portals aii\- 
more than at the hovel door of the Innuble. It cuts 
down a succes.sful earthh- career with a stroke as ruthless 



64 I-iff (t'ld Character of C. If. Tluviipson 

as that with whicli it smites to dust tlie last chance of 
him whose life has been a failure. If the continiionsh- 
unfortunate go where " the wears- are at rest," we consi,ijn 
his memory to eternal repose, with a sigh that means it 
is all for the best. But when he is taken from among 
us, to be gone forever, who but yesterda\- was strong, 
buoyant, sanguine ; smiling over successes achieved and 
radiant with hope of triumphs to come ; when such a 
man, moving among us and within a week is taken ; 
his name stricken from among the list of li\'ing; all his 
high hopes as the dust with which he is soon to mingle; 
all his achie\-ements but to be the solemn summing of 
an epitaph- — then it is we are stricken with impotent 
awe and unavailing wonder. But young as he was, 
untimely taken as he was, Charles W. Thompson 
.served his communit\-, his State, and his country with 
an example worthy of emulation by the best blood that 
courses in the veins of American citizens. 

He lived and loved to live with and for the things of 
good repute. He was a professor of the Christian faith, 
and no man more zealoush', more diligently, more ard- 
ently sought to attain toward the perfection of its teach- 
ings than he. vSuddenlv smitten amid his duties and his 
pleastires, lie was the first to realize that his work nuist 
cease and all his jo)'s of ]i\-ing come at once to an end- 
all. Early in his illnes.s — to the amazement of his 
friends — he gave them timeh- but the calmest of warn- 
ings that the worst might be expected in but a few 
hours. They absolutely scouted his admonition, thinking 
the infliction of pains soon to pass had raised his pulse 



Address of Mr. Bniik/irad, of Alabama 65 

and excited his iniac^ination. It was not until the unmis- 
takable shadow of death itself hung its dread pall about 
his pillow did any one of those who had sought to laugh 
awa}- his fea,rs realize the truth in a dumbness of ended 
hope. The grief of yesterday for our dead friend and 
colleague is to-day merged into a sense of exaltation, 
almost fraught with rejoicing, that his life, brief as it 
was, marked a career of generous usefulness, of high and 
noble purpose, and of love and charit>- for all men. His 
was the "white flower of a blameless life," and it was 
more. The flower left its seed to enrich the soil of 
character wherever right-living humanity is indigenous, 
\vhere\-er honesty, industr\-, and love of fellow-man may 
nourish and cause to bloom again and again the best 
that is in men — the immortal part. 
H. Doc. 47S, 5S-3 5 



66 Life and Cliaractcr of C. J I '. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Wiley, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker : We .stand in the shadow of a great sorrow. 
Again we are impressed witli tlie solemn words of the poet: 

Oh, deep, enchanting prelude to repose, 
The dawn of bliss, the twilight of our woes; 
Yet half I hear the panting spirit sigh 
It is a dread and awful thing to die. 

Ebon-handed Death, with his relentless scythe, has again 
invaded onr ranks and cut down a beloved colleague in the 
full ])ride and strength of a glorious young manhood. 

C)n the 20th cla\' of last month, at the hour of 4 o'clock 
p. m., his disembodied spirit winged its flight from the ills 
of life to a brighter and better home beyond the skies, to 
that — 

Mysterious world, untraveled by the sun. 
Where time's far-wandering tide has never run. 

In his untimely death the State mourns one of her 
strongest and noblest sons. His illness was brief. Grief- 
stricken, we scarceh' had occasion to gather around his 
sick bed before we were summoned to follow his bodv to 
the gra\'e. 

St) buoyant and manly, strong and healthy, brave, loyal, 
and true was he that it never occurred to us to associate 
him with the idea of death. Better than any man I ever 
knew he apjireciated the just relations between himself and 
others, the duties arising from them, and his obligations at 
all times to fidfill them. 



Address of Mr. Wiley, of Alaliania 6/ 

I was his intiniatf personal friend and loved him for 
those qualities of head and heart which endeared him lo all 
wdro came into close contact with him. As a father, son, 
brother, neighbor, friend, church member, and patriotic 
citizen he discharged every duty cheerfulh- and with the 
approval of a good conscience. 

Time robs us of our treasures one by one, leaving us 
nothing save our dead. The ways of God are in.scrutable — 
past finding out. In the midst of a useful and honorable 
career, with a rainbow of promise spanning a brilliant 
future and glowing with prismatic colors of richest hue, it 
is beyond our finite comprehension to understand why the 
"dread summons" should come to him at an hour so inop- 
portune. All our sorrows, it is said, have elements of 
good in them, and as "the swift shuttle passes" we catch 
bright glimpses of golden threads in the black web of our 
afflictions. Light and shade, good and evil, joy and .sad- 
ness, sickness and health, life and death, cross and recro.ss 
like warp and woof in the loom and wea\'e up the eternal 
network of our destiny. l>ut — 

Each liope and fear that blights the eye or clouds the brow 
Proclaims there is a happier sphere than this bleak world that holds u.s 
now. 

From the almost inspired pen' of Edmund liurke we 
ha\-e this memorable sentiment: "There is nothing in the 
world that does not lie within the reach of an informed 
understanding and a well-directed pursuit." The moral 
qualities, the excellencies of character, of brave and loval 
men have cau.sed the torch of truth to come down from 
heaven to earth. Truth and courage are lordh" \irtues. 



68 Life iDid Cliaractcr of C. II '. Tlionipson 

They wear upon their heads the dignit>- and glor\- of kingly 
power ; and when softened b\- charity, which is their loving 
mother, the\' Isecome the superl) crown of lunnanit\- — not 
imperious desjjots, but checked and tempered sovereigns of 
the soul. 

Charles W. Thompson was a broad-gauged, progressive, 
liberty-loving American. He was not a theorist or pessi- 
mist. He was no literary vagrant, loitering about the soft 
places of indolence and ease. He was inten.sely practical. 
He did things. He accomplished results. With a Napo- 
leonic gra.sp of the situation, he reached conclusions with 
unerring accurac\- and apparenth- without conscious inter- 
mediate process. Earnestly patriotic, his ardent wish was 
to have all sectional lines obliterated, to behold the North, 
South, East, and West banded together in the common 
bonds of perpetual union and fraternal love. ' Direct in his 
methods, clear of comprehension, with a bright mind full of 
tiseful knowdedge, fluent in speech, and graceful in manner, 
it was no marvel that in his public addresses he became so 
interesting and instructive that "the connnon people heard 
him gladly." 

The Bible description of a Christian worker, "not 
slothful in business ; fer\-ent in spirit ; serving the Lord," 
precisely fitted him. He met the duties, responsil)ilities, 
and obligations of life with truth and courage, honor 
and manhood. It is the rugged highway that calls forth 
one's strength and not the valleys of sensuous ea.se. The 
fierce winds (lri\-e the roots of the giant oak deep down 
into the earth, .-^o that it may resist the raging storms. 
Carlyle defined genius to be "a light of intelligence, of 



.Ir/drt'ss of Mr. ]\'ilc\\ of Alabama 69 

truth, and of all maiif illness." This sort of .^-enius 
craves recognition and appreciation. Merit does not \ol- 
nntarily hide itself from the knowledge of men. It will 
live through the tire of persecution. It will break the 
shackles of ignorance, superstition, and prejudice. It will 
stand firm against adversity's howling tempests. Even 
pri.son walls and iron bars can not shut out its influence. 

It was a doctrine of old paganism that the gods gave 
nothing to mortals without severe toil. Acting upon the 
principle that labor conquers all things and " time will 
bring its own reward," the splendid gentleman whose death 
we mourn to-da\- struck out for himself in the great ocean 
of busv life around him and struggled heroically with its 
waves. He proved himself .strong and worthy ; and his 
fellow-men were not slow in making the discovery, in 
properlv appreciating his efforts, and in rewarding him 
according to his deserts. From obscurity to fame he 
foueht his wa^", and his career demonstrates and illustrates 
the magnificent possibilities of American citizenship. 

With a modest beginning in his native town of Tuskegee, 
he amassed a large fortune before he reached the age of 
40 vears. He did not enter the political arena until he 
had already achieved notable business successes. The first 
official position he held was that of vState senator, and 
while serving in that capacitv he was elected to the Fifty- 
seventh Congress in a hotly contested race. He was 
returned to the Fifty-eighth Congress by a large majority, 
and would have been reelected without opposition to the 
Fiftv-ninth Congress but for his sudden death. He was 
peculiarU' adapted to public life. Enthusiastic in his 



70 Life and Character of C. W. 77/ti;//p.<;oi/ 

affections, g-enerous in nature, niaj^naninious in disposition, 
benevolent and pnblic-spirited, tactful in the management 
of men and measnres, tireless in energy, patient and pains- 
taking in the conqnest of details, he possessed, in addition 
to these characteristics, a magnetic personalit}-, which 
enabled him to trinm])h in all liis tmdertakings withont 
surrendering one "jot or tittle" of his honest con\-ictions. 

Doctor Johnson has somewhere said : " He whose life 
has jrasscd withont a contest, who can neither boast success 
nor merit, and is content with his own character, must 
owe his satisfaction to his insensibilit\-." There is not a 
person on earth who has not in him the jiower to do good. 
What men want is not talent so much as purpose; not so 
much the ability to achieve as the will to labor. 

In little circles, it may be, we gather about us those who 
are bound to us by ties of afTection or cemented b\' common 
rights and mutual interests. A man can not li\-e for him- 
self alone. Our fallen friend was literally the "archi- 
medeau lexer" that mo\-ed the .social, commercial, and 
religious thought and action of the communit\' in which 
he was born. He had, of course, battles to fight and \icto- 
ries to win. He enccnuitered difficulties and conquered 
them. He faced obstacles and surnu)unted them. A tree 
is known In- the fruit it Ijears. A inan is judged In- the 
product of liis lal)or. 

According to every standard known to lunnan ex]-)cri- 
ence b\ wliich earthh' fame is measured we are forced to 
rank him .-imoug those who ha\-e compassed large results ; 
but the make-up of this remarkable man can not be 
understood, nor a ])ro]ier estimate be put ujion his life 



Address of Mr. Wiley, nf Alahaiiia 71 

and character, without taking into account the beneficent 
influence his de\-oted Christian mother exercised in liis 
moral and religious training. 

It was Madame de vStael who told Xapoleon Bonaparte 
that if he wished to regenerate France he must first regen- 
erate her mothers. A nation's glory or shame begins at 
the Inllabv cradle, fondly rocked by an anxious mother's 
hand. It is an indisputable fact that .scarcely any man has 
ever attained distinction in his chosen sphere who was not 
reared bv a consecrated mother. 

The tender love and consideration he always manifested 
for his mother was beautiful to contemplate. How proud 
she was of her worth\- son — the idol of her heart, the 
"apple of her e\-e," and what a cruel blow was struck her 
when the "still .small voice" coming from the realm of 
shade fell upon his ear and whispered: "Child of the dii.st, 
come awav — come awa)." 

When he left her to attend to his Congressional duties at 
Washington, imprinting a kiss upon her aged lips, health 
bloomed in his cheeks and joy laughed in his eyes; only 
two weeks later when he returned to her his bod\- lay in 
a cofhn. His image deep graven on her broken heart 
will remain "till memory be dead." He was her prop 
and support — her sta>- and hope. She had directed his 
youthful mind and guided his erring foot.steps, and now, 
in her declining years, she delighted to lean on his lo\-- 
ino- breast: and he never failed her. His staff was her 

o ' 

"comfort." 

He was essentially a bus>- man ; \et in the hurr>- and 
bustle incident to an active life he found time fur the 



72 Life and Cliaractcr of C. II '. T/ioiiipsoii 

distribution of charities and benefactions with a liberal 
hand. He did not deem it a weakness to give sway to 
the influence of loving and sympathetic emotions. He 
preserved in his warm heart some green spots where the 
caravan wheels of the world never passed and where the 
hoofs of its carnival coursers never trod. His benevolences 
made life beautiful to manv sorrow-stricken souls, brinp-ine 
to them flowers and music and good cheer, and pouring 
into their weary hearts light and gladness, and sunshine. 

But he has left us forever. Death, who knocks alike 
at the palaces of the rich and the cottages of the poor, 
unwilling to await the fruition of his earthly endeavors, 
has called this faithful public servant, this genial and 
gentle friend, "from labor to rest;"' but he has not died 
in vain. His good deeds will li\e after him and inspire 
the youth of the land to enuilate his well-rounded char- 
acter. He leaves to the nation and his nati\e State, 
to his family, kindred, and friends the legacy of an 
unsullied name. We mourn for a comrade lost ; we gxieve 
for a friend that is gone; but we will cherish the mem- 
or\- of his noble life, and emulate those lustrous ^"irtues 
which incited him to loft\- aspirations in his works and 
aims (Uu'ing his pilgrimage on earth, in his daih- walk 
amongst his fellow-men. They ha\-e builded for him "a 
monument not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all ]Mem- 
bers who have not spoken, but who may desire to sub- 
mit remarks upon the life and character of Ch.\rles 
\Vix.sT()X Tho:mi'SOX, lia\e leave to print in the Record 
within such time as is usual. 



AtMrcss o/' .]//■. ]]'ile}\ of AInhauia 73 

The Speaker pro tempore. Without objection, it will 
be so ordered. 

The Speaker pro tempore. Now, in pnrsuance of the 
resolutions already adopted, and as a further mark of 
respect to the deceased Senator and Representatives, the 
House stands adjourned until to-morrow, at 12 o'clock 
noon. 

Accordingly (at 5 o'clock and 26 minutes p. m. ) the 
House adjourned. 



Proceeedings in the Senate 

April 26, 1904. 
message fro^r the senate. 

The message also announced that the Senate had passed 
the following resolutions : 

J\{rsfl!zrd, That the business of the Senate be now suspended, that 
opportunity may be giyen for tributes to the memory of Hon. Charles 
W. Thompson, late a Member of the House of Representatives from the 
State of Alabama. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased 
and in recognition of his able and faithful public services the Senate, at 
the conclusion of these exercises, will stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the 
House of Representatives. 

Resolved, That the Secretary send a copy of these resolutions to the 
fam.ily of the deceased. 

March 21, 1904. 

MESSAGE FRO:vr THE HOUSE. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. 
A\'. J. I5ro\vning, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the 
Senate the intelligence of the death of Hon. Charles 
Winston Thompson, late a Representative from the 
State of Alabama, and transmitted the resolutions of the 
Hou.se thereon. 

The mes.sage also announced that the Speaker had ap- 
pointed ^Ir. Wiley, of Alabama; Mr. Clayton, Mr. Bowie, 
Mr. Padgett; ]\Ir. Claiues, of Tennessee; Mr. Littlefield; 
Mr. Brown, of Wisconsin; Mr. Darragh; :\Ir. Williams, of 



76 Proceedings in the Senate 

Illinois; Mr. Hill, of Connecticut; ^Ir. Scarborough, Mr. 
Southard; Mr. Patterson, of North Carolina; Mr. Houston, 
and Mr. Aiken members of the committee on the part 
of the House. 

DEATH OF REPRESENTATIVP: THOMPSON, OF ALABAMA. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before 
the Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, 
which will be read. 

The Secretan- read the resolutions of the House of 
Representatives, as follows : 

Ix THE HorsE OF Represent.\tives, 

.^farch 21, ig04. 

Resolved, Tliat the House has heard with profound regret of the 
untimely death of Hon. Charges Winston Thompson, late a Repre- 
sentative from the State of .Alabama. 

Resolved, That a committee of fifteen Members of the House, with such 
Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the 
funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and 
directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying out the pro- 
visions of these resolutions, and that the necessary expense in connection 
therewith be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate 
and transmit a copy thereof to the famil)- of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect this House do now adjourn. 

Mr. MORG.AN. IMr. President, I offer the resolutions 
which I send to the desk. 

The President pro tempore. The resolutions will be 
read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows : 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sorrow tlie annoimce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Ch.^ri.ks AVixston Thompson, late a Repre- 
.sentative of the Fifth district of the State of Alabama. 



Proceedings in tlie Senate 77 

Resolved, That a committee of eight Senators be appointed by the 
President pro tempore to join a committee on the part of the House of 
Representatives to take order for superintending the funeral of the 
deceased. 

Resolved, That the Senate communicate these resohitions to the House 
of Representatives. 

The Presidb;xt pro tempore. The question i.s on 
ag-reeino- to the resolutions. 

The resolations were tmanimously agreed to; and the 
President pro tempore appointed as the committee on 
the part of the Senate under the .second resohition Mr. 
Morgan, Mr. Pettus, Mr. Culberson, Mr. McL,aurin, IMr. 
Overman, Mr. Spooner, Mr. Nelson, and Mr. DoUiver. 

]\Ir. Pettus. Mr. President, I move that the Senate, 
as a further mark of respect, do now adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to ; and (at 3 
o'clock and 22 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned 
until to-morrow, Tuesda}', ]\Iarch 22, 1904, at 12 o'clock 
meridian. 

April 25, 1904. 

message from the house. 

The message also transmitted to the Senate the re.so- 
lutions of the House of Representatives on the life and 
public .services of Hon. Ch.\rles W. Thompson, late a 
Representative from the State of Alabama. 



78 Proceedings in the Senate 

April 25, 1904. 

r 

MK-MORIAL ADDRESSES OX THE LATE REPRESENTATIVE 

THOMPSON. 

Mr. MOROAN. .Mr. President, I desire to .state that at 
half past 4 o'clock to-day I shall ask the Senate to act on 
re.sohitions, responsive to the resolutions of the Honse, in 
respect to the life and pnblic .services of Hon. Ch.\RLES 
W. Thompson, late a Representative from the State of 
Alabama. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

April 25, 1904. 

Mr. ^lORGAN. ^Ir. President, understanding that the l)ill 
lias gone over, I call attention to the notice I gave this 
morning that I would at this hour call u]3 the resolutions 
of the House of Representatives connnemorative of the life 
and career of the late Hon. Chari.ks W. Thompson. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, 
which will be read. 

The Secretary read the re.solutions, as follows: 

In the House of Reprhsf.ntatives, 

April 24, tgo^. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, that oppor- 
tunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. Ch.\rles W. 
Thompson, late a Member of this House from the State of .Alabama. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased and in recognition of his distinguished public career the House, 
at the conclusion of the exercises of this day, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the family 
of the deceased. 

Mr. MORG.\N. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which 
I .send to the desk. 

The President pro tempore. The resolutions submitted 
by the Senator from Alabama will be read. 

The re.solutions were read, as follows: 

Resolved, That the business of the .Senate be now suspended, that oppor- 
tunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. Ch.\ri.ES W. 
Thompson, late a Member of the House of Repre.sentatives from the Slate 
of Alabama. 

79 



8o Life ami Cliaractrr of C. If. TJionipson 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased and 
in recognition of his able and faithful public services the Senate, at the 
conclusion of these exercises, will stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Secretary couiinuiiicate these resolutions to the 
House of Representatives. 

Resolved. That the Secretary send a copy of these resolutions to the 
familv of the deceased. 



Address of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama 8i 



Address of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama 

Mr. President : The resolution of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, in which the Senate is asked to concur, will 
conve\- to the people of Alabama a gratifying expression 
of the regret of Congress at the loss of their }-oung Rep- 
resentative, who was esteemed as an honorable and useful 
man and was sincerely beloved by them. • They will thank 
Congress for this expression of their sympatln- for the loss 
Alabama has sustained in the early death of Charles 
Winston Thompson. They will associate the honors 
bestowed on him in these obsequies with those that come 
with responsive grief from their own hearts, and they will 
cherish them as an honorable and sacred memorial. 

Congress honors Mr. Thompson becau.se he was a faith- 
ful public servant, and the people of Alabama honor him 
for that cause and because the)- loved him. 

He was not peculiar among his fellows and associates for 
distinguished abilities and achievements, but his life was an 
example of manly worth and moral integrity that reflects 
honor upon his people and entitles him to their afiEectionate 
remembrance. He was a true example of their religious, 
.social, and industrial life, and a representative of the con- 
victions and principles they adopt as their guides in their 
participation in the aft'airs of State and National Govern- 
ment. 

H. Doc. 478, 5S-3 6 



82 Life and Character of C. IF. TIioiiipsiDi 

He attained to this representative character, which he 
won without the aid of favoring; circumstances, bv his 
strong traits of personal character, his own courageous 
spirit, and his upright manner of living. 

The young people of the white race of the South at the 
])eriod of his childhood had an environment of difficulties 
in all that surrounded them that has had no parallel in 
histor\-. I mention this to illustrate his success in life, as 
being due to Mr. Thompson's strength of character and 
to the approval of the scrutinizing judgment of the people 
who knew his course of conduct and rewarded him with 
distinguished marks of their confidence. 

Great numbers of the young men and women of the 
South have endured the same tests with like results, but 
not with like distinction in public affairs, for few have 
sought such opportunities; but they comprise con.stituen- 
cies that are not excelled for good sense, useful knowledge, 
and true excellence of character hx anv of the communities 
in this great Republic, which means b\' an^• in the world. 
At the time when this \outh entered upon the work of his 
life the new era had supplanted the old and had nearly 
extinguished all that had been created and established by 
the labors of man in the South, until only the soil and the 
skeleton of civil government and the ashes of movable 
property remained. 

The white peoj^le, unused to labor, and their former 
African slaves were brought into unequal competition in 
physical toil and endurance, and were rated as equal partici- 
pants in the inheritance of civil power in the governments 
that were established alone b^■ the white race. The real 



Address of Mr. Morgan^ of Alabama 83 

struggle of their children was for existence, and there was 
little hope that they could successfully aspiie to the enjoy- 
ment of the honorable influence that their fathers had 
possessed. 

This was a desperate outlook for boys and girls born 
in that era. Yet wonderful success has been accomplished 
b\- them, which is only the precursor of greater achieve- 
ments, and an applauding world looks on with pleasure 
and .seeks to know the cause of the trimuphaut restoration 
of the white race in the South that now seems to be 
assured. The iirst answer to the inquir\- is that it is in 
the blood of the race; but the supreme answer is that the 
All-Wise Creator, ha\-ing assigned to the white race the 
leadership in Christian ci\-ilization, has qualified His people 
thus chosen for the task with the power to overcome 
opposition, to remove obstructions from the path of duty, 
and to defy all forms of oppression and antagonism that 
may impede their progress. 

These traits we call " \-irtues," and it is a true name for 
the fruits of a gift that is really divine. 

In no place are these blessed fruits richer or more abun- 
dant than in the homes of the southern farmers. The 
matrons and the daughters who minister in these domestic 
sanctuaries keep the sacred fires of liberty and of pure 
and philanthropic affection forever aflame on their simple 
altars, whose incense ascends to heaven and pleads for 
truth, justice, sincerity, courage, charity, and peace. Their 
pra}-ers are not without answer, and the whole country 
smiles under the benediction. 



84 Lift- and CJiaractcr of C. IT. Thompson 

It was in such a household that Charles W. Thompson 
was born and reared. 

The modest fortune of the family had \-anished in the 
conflicts of civil war; but his heart did not fail him, and 
he did not shrink from toil. He put forth the strength 
and courage that have the simple name of "duty" in the 
ritual of the domestic fireside — first, duty to God, and 
then to the family, and then to the country — and he 
measured the whole meaning of that injunction, and 
fearlessly he took up his task. 

There is one yet living who remembers how she 
almost despaired when her bo}- first bent his shoulders 
to the task whose burden .she had borne through so 
man}' trials. 

That one is liis mother. But she also knows that 
he had help that came not from human hands, and that 
she had begged it from One who never closes His ear 
to a faithful mother's plea. In such homes, with such 
family surroundings, men are born and nurtured upon 
whom the State can always lean with confidence in 
peace or war, at the voting booth, in legislative assem- 
blies, on the bench, or in the executive offices. 

They are the men whose public official servants create 
and administer the laws by their authority, and their 
test of civic virtue has alwavs been that obedience to 
law is the highest duty of citizenship, and that he who 
refuses to obey the laws is not fit to be intrusted with 
their enactment. 

It is such a constituenc>- that ;\Ir. Thompson repre- 
.sented. 



Address of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama 85 

It has been my good fortune to represent that constit-- 
uencv, in part, for nearly thirty years in the Senate. 
In that time I have enjoyed the honcjr of a near asso- 
ciation with those who are not inferior to the men of 
any assemblage in the world, and no honor could be 
greater than a kindly welcome by them. But, even in the 
Senate, I have not found any whose respect and appro- 
bation I value above that of this splendid constituency. 

To have the approval of such people while living and 
their aiTectionate remembrance after death is the high 
reward that Mr. Thompson has earned by a modest, 
simple, and true life devoted to duty. 

I need not recount the histor)- of his )outh and early 
manhood. It was uneventful, in the sense that it attracted 
little attention from those who attach small importance to 
a career that is not accentuated by unusual adventures or 
extraordinary- success or failure. 

The southern pine that finally lifts its plumes high 
above the hills and plains is not less grand because it is 
not conspicuous among the millions that surround it in 
the great forests. Mr. Thompson grew up among men 
like himself, and he felt that it was honor enough to be 
their equal and to enjoy their confidence and approbation. 

In their ser\-ice and with their encouragement it was 
natural that he should be proud of the public trusts they 
confided to his care, and that he should hereafter aspire to 
official station, in which he felt that he could render a ser\-- 
ice to the people which would draw him into clo.ser rela- 
tions to their domestic welfare than he would hold to them 
as their Representative in Congress. 



86 Life a)id Character of C. 11'. TIwDipson 

Some incidents attending the week of the fatal illness of 
Mr. Tho.mpsox point to the plan of pnblic life which he 
preferred and illnstrate the strongest moti\-es that con- 
trolled his conduct as a man in his social and political 
relations. 

On the last Sabbath of his life he worshiped, in the 
morning and evening .services, at the Moiint \'ernon Meth- 
odist Church in Washington, and was found to be vio- 
lenth' ill with pneumonia on his return to his hotel at 
night. He suffered .severeh', but patiently. His thoughts 
were biisy with the sudden change that was about to occur, 
as to which he had no doubt. He had no distressing fears 
of the presence of death in respect of his future being. He 
had no sudden preparation to make, for he had "cast an 
anchor within the x'eil" in earh' life, and he had no dread 
of shipwreck on the ocean of eternity. 

He had cherished the desire to lead a life of useful- 
ness and the aspiration that it might be a life of ser\-ice 
to his State, as the great embodiment of the sovereignty 
of the people of Alabama, for whom he had profound 
reverence and the strongest sense of lo^•alt^^ 

He had served the jjeople faithfulh-, according to his 
opportunity, in the Congress of the United States, and 
had, in an unusual degree, gained the confidence and the 
admiration of the Representatives from other States and 
the high regard and esteem of his colleagues from Ala- 
bama. 

Having a .substantial fortune, which he had earned 
laboriously and honestly in useful business pursuits, he 
was not tempted by any mercenarj- motives to pursue a 



Address of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama Sj 

political career, but his success in Congress had been 
honorable and, doubtless, it incited hiui to further effort 
to become prominent and influential in the councils of 
the United States. But when he thought of the disap- 
pointment that his early death was about to bring to 
his most cherished earthly hopes and aspirations he spoke 
to his nurse about the chiefest of these, the one fond 
expectation that had its strongest hold upon his heart. 
He said, " I had hoped to live to become the governor 
of Alabama." 

Turning from the hopes of prominence in the national 
service and putting aside its allurements, he followed the 
guidance of his sound judgment and true heart and found 
in their teachings that in his love of Alabama and in 
his devotion to the service of the State he would, in 
retiirn, gain the warmer affections of a noble and gen- 
erous people, -and in their ser\-ice he would find the reward 
that he coveted. 

I am deeply gratified that in his last hours the heart 
of this young Alabamian turned to the sovereign vState 
to which his first and highest allegiance was due with 
yearning for longer life, that he might labor more effec- 
tiveh- in the ser\-ice of our people. This is the instinct 
and the worthy ambition of ever)- true son of Alabama. 

]\Ir. Thompson was born in ^Nlacon County, Ala., De- 
cember 30, i860, where he resided during his life. In 
the forty vears following the organization and establish- 
ment of State government in Alabama, Macon County 
was a center of the highest and best social influences, 
and it contributed powerful and noble men and women 



88 Life iijui Character of C. II '. TIiouipsoii 

to the sen-ice of a true Christian civilization. Xot many 
were ver}- rich and none were very poor or even so de- 
ficient in the comforts of an indej^endent li\-ing as to 
create a line of social distinction relating to the owner- 
ship of property. 

Such a just and happy balance of social conditions 
always insures the contentment of the people and their 
development on the basis of personal merit. This social 
condition in the vSouth has afforded room and sustentation 
for the growth of man}- of its noblest men and women. 

The standard of merit and social distinction there has 
not been the possession of wealth or the inheritance of 
ancestral fame. It has been adjusted b)- personal worth 
and uprightness of character. 

The county of jMacon and the neighboring co^ntr^- was 
settled b)' enterprising immigrants from all of the old 
thirteen States, and their children are Americans in the 
best sense of that high calling. :\Ir. Tiiompsox was born 
of a parentage that had no special claims to distinctions 
in talents or letters or in puljlic ser\-ice, and no property 
that had not been earned by honest industr\-, and no 
accomplishments that were not the simple but beautiful 
decorations of pure and virtuous lives, and no religion 
that could not have an altar in every respectable home 
and a controlling influence for good in everv action and 
emotion. 

The time of his birth was in the period of the great 
ci\il war. At its close he and all the children of the 
South who still had the spirit of their fathers and mothers 
had to look through the smoke of battle and conflagratien 



AMrcss of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama 89 

to catch a glimpse of the star of hope that still shone 
clinilv and with nncertain light on the dark horizon of 
the futnre. Bnt that generation has not failed to heed 
its light or to follow its leading. " The resnrrection and 
the life " are given to all men that die, bnt the children 
of the Sonth were compelled to fight different and, in the 
sense of snffering, harder battles than their fathers had 
won or lost for the chance of a new life that would carry 
in its horoscope the fntnre liberties and the prestige of 
the race to which they and their fathers belonged. 

JNIr. Thompson was of that great number and, as many 
thou,sands have done, he .searched among the ruins for the 
material and the tools with which to rebuild wrecked for- 
tunes and the places of habitation. Through dint of the 
blood and spirit they inherited, and through faith in God, 
whose service they love, they have surmounted almost the 
last obstacle to their restoration. 

The deliverance of the South from the curse entailed 
upon us by the covetousness of people foreign to us, which 
for centuries has brooded over the fairest land in the world, 
will not be long delayed, and his comrades and contempo- 
raries lament that he pas.sed away without having wit- 
nessed the opening triumph of the movement in which he 
labored so earnesth'. 

His greatest honors will not be written on historical 
pages or on monuments dedicated to his memor\-. They 
live, and will continue to live, in the hearts of tho.se who 
knew him best — his neighbors and associates. 

He died in the Lenten season, on the 20th of March, 
1904, when the Christian world contemplates sufferin.sj; 



iir and 



go Life and CIi a racier of C. II'. TiKViipsoii 

death — llie winter season of j)enitence, llie season when 
faith looks forward to tlie sprini^time of a new life. He 
died in the bnddini;;- season of hope, wlien, seeking a new 
life freed from the decay of the old life and the moldering 
cerements of the tomb, the souls of men begin to take 
courage and even to rejoice in the hope of life everlasting. 

It was in the cinickening power of this season that a 
daughter of Alabama perceived and declared, through the 
single sense of touch, which was the only means of com- 
munication with tlie outer world that was left to her, the 
truth of the divine promise of the resurrection and the new 
life, and ga\e her conception of the " Easter season " to the 
world. 

Her excpiisite delineation of immortality could not 
have been the result of leaching, but of inward thought. 
It is so clear that it demonstrates its truth. It is the 
inward thought of a ])ure .sotd that had no po.ssible guide 
but that of her own conception of the truth that could 
lead her tlioughts to its disco\-ery through the processes 
of reasoning. It reciuires more than all the senses to 
comprehend a life after death, and Helen Keller had 
only the .sense oi touch, \et she com])reheuds this mv.s- 
tery. Her insjiiration is the true work of faith, aside 
from re\'elatiou. 

Helen Keller's knowledge of death is as certain as if 
she had seen others die, and her knowledge of the life 
to come is an act of faith no less convincing to her 
inward consciousness. This knowledge ma\' not be an 
inspiration gi\-en to this wonderful girl. It is, howe\'er, 
an inward consciousne.s.s — an act of faith — that, in some 



Address of Mr. Moroni/, of AInhaiiia 91 

fcinn and at souk- liiiie, coiuinccs every sciUient Iiumau 
Ijcin;^. 

This N'Otinq; woman was Ijorn and nnrlnrcd in tlic circle- 
I lia\c described as beinjr neitlur ricli lujr pour, nor great, 
n<jr \et unknown. Her kindred are anion^r tlie pillars 
of society in Alabama — the luads of t^ood families, of 
which the strentjth anfl dislril)nlion resenddes that of 
the stnrdy oaks of tlie forests of the South. It is only 
a fittin.L;- tribnte to cjne who ;ii)i;)reciated the .t^rand and 
beantifnl sermon oi Helen Keller's life, and who revered 
her almost as if she was an anj^el of lijj;ht, to (jnote from 
her ".Spirit of ICaster " the.se lines of thought expressed 
bv her tonch, that recall the tongnes of penteccstal flame. 
The\- are words of appro])riate farewell from .\labania to 
her worthy son : 

lit'lief ill eternal life compels us to believe in j;oo(l deeds and honest 
lliouglUs. 

The ■fixA man toils not for to-day, not for to-morrow alone, but because 
he knows that his labor shall survive long after his hand ha.s fallen from 
the plow. 

The j;oo(l man pours himself into the worlil and makes it new. He is 
amonj( the l)lessed who win sight out of blindness, order out of ch.ios, 
and life out of death. 

These thoughts, I believe, define the purpose of the life 
work of the worthy son of Alabama who.se oksequies tlie 
Senate is now celebrating, and I (piote them as a legend 
appropriate for his tomb. 

Let the people of Alabama feel in this hour of sad 
reflection the safe a.ssurance of restoration to their former 
dignity and power that must come and will come through 
the virtues and labors of their sons .and daughters. , 



92 Life, and Cliavacter of C. J I'. Thompson 

I-,et them read and understand their future in the light 
of these prophetic words of the beloved daughter, Helen 
Keller: 

since the first Easter iiiornini; tlie soul of man has shown with unwast- 
ing light; for then he looked into the radiant face of the risen Christ and 
knew that God's universe shapes itself not to destruction, but to a yet 
more glorious genesis. 

Out of night He bringeth day and out of death life everlasting. 

Alabama has passed the darkness of the night. " The 
bars of night are broken." "The bird is on the wing," 
and the breaking of the dawn heralds the returning sun 
that cheered our fathers in the days when they met dangers 
on the halfway ground and accepted distress as a sacrifice 
due to their con\-ictions of duty. 

I find pleasure and, I hope, profit to the voung men of 
Alabama in stating the ground.s — the basis on which the 
people of that State placed their sincere affection for 
Ch.\rles \V. Thompson. 

It was not that he was considered a " model man," in 
who.se life and example there was no flaw or occasion for 
criticism. He did not so regard himself, nor did he believe 
or aspire to the hope in respect of which personal vanity so 
often misleads excellent young men — the hope of being 
able, without divine help, to fashion character into the full 
statttre and perfect development of a model man. 

He has left a good example, well established by a 
modest, sincere, useful, and honorable career. 

He has done as much at 44 \'ears of age to gain the 
confidence of his neighbors and the admiration and 
applause of the people of a great State as very able men 
of greater age have accomplished. 



Address of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama 93 

Measured bv sucli a standard, which, after all, is very 
high, Charles \V. Thompson must be ranked with the 
men to whom the people attribute greatness and goodness 
as their grateful reward for faithful public service. He 
was not conspicuous for the brilliancy of such intellectual 
powers as captivate audiences by special gifts of orator\-, 
or for the wisdom of utterances that will become standards 
of thought for coming generations ; but, better than this, 
he taught by his example and his words of good counsel 
through which his influence for good is a permanent and 
enduring work. 

His life was a steady, reliable light, that did not flame 
out at times with extraordinary Ijrightness, but, in its 
uniform glow, guided many into the better ways of life 
and the people in safe roads to prosperity. It was not a 
false life, that allured his associates into evil, but a true 
light that all could follow without respect to their condi- 
tion in life. 

Men who have reached the period of longevity and 
experience where the present is the point of retrospection 
and the future is admeasured by the past realize that a 
good life, though it may be brief, is the most precious 
gift that a man can bequeath to his successors. 

The life of ]\Ir. Thompson is such a gift to his a.sso- 
ciates and to his constituents, and, lamenting its early 
close, they cherish the value of his excellent work and feel 
that his loss is a public bereavement. 



94 -^{/t- and Character of C. IV. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Dolliver, of Iowa 

Mr. Presidkxt : I have often reflected upon that limita- 
tion on our lives here which, notwithstanding the oppor- 
tunities for personal acquaintance, narrows our opportunities 
for that intimate knowledge of other men which is essential 
to a just estimate of their character and of their services. 

I count it one of the fortunate things of my public life 
here that I had the means in an unusual measure to learn 
of the ideals and achievements of the ^Member of the House 
of Representatives to whose memory we are now paving 
our tribute. I sought his acquaintance, because, upon 
meeting him by chance, I found in him the type of what 
appeared to me to be a \er>- large and broad public service. 
I found that he was thinking and dealing with those ques- 
tions that lie nearest to our national life. 

He had been born, as I myself had been, in a Southern 
State, at the very time of the outbreak of the civil war, in 
the midst of which so many of the institutions of our people 
either perished or were so transformed as to be hardh- rec- 
ognizable; and I think bv that circumstance I was drawn 
near to this man. I founil him thinking and talking and 
working for a better understanding between the sections of 
our common countr\-. He had not shared the passions of 
the period of ci\-il strife, and as he came to manhood he 
recognized that the welfare of the Republic, North and 
South, required a more ])erfect unity in thought and in 
feeling. 



Address of Mr. Dolliver, of lotva 95 

vSo, amon,^- the first things to which he devoted himself 
on coming to the national capital was to contribute to that 
better nnderstanding between his own people and the 
people of the North. He understood that the old questions 
were all gone, and that nothing remained to fortify the old 
prejudices except the want of knowledge which usually lies 
at the basis of all prejudice. 

Amonsr the first thins^s he did as a Member of the House 
of Representatives was to invite his colleagues from other 
sections of the countr\- to go with him upon a journey to 
his own home and partake of the hospitality of the coni- 
n^^nit^■ in the midst of which he had Ijeen reared. More 
than two score of his friends and acquaintances in both 
Houses of Congress went with him to Alabama, and the 
most beautiful thing about the man appeared to be the 
modest pride and dignity with which lie took these stran- 
o-ers into the hearts and liomes of the neighborhood in 
which he had lived all his life. 

He was proud of the old vState, proud of her people, 
proud of her progress, and anxious that others should 
know and appreciate them as he appreciated them. 

I can imagine no better ser\-ice that could be rendered 
to the people of the United States than a systematic effort 
to introduce every .section of our country to every otlier 
section. I know of nothing that would more swiftly and 
more perfectly extinguish the prejudices and misunder- 
standings which may linger even for generations in a 
country- with such scattered interests as ours. 

He was not only anxious that the people of the North 
should know and appreciate the jjeople of his own vState, 



96 Life and Character of C. If. TJwmpson 

but he had special interest in bringing strangers from 
other sections of the country into contact with the reallv 
great and troublesome questions with which his people had 
to deal. 

I have met no man, either in public or private life, who 
recognized more clearly that the great question with which 
the American people have to do in the next centurv is the 
question arising from the presence among us of 10,000,000 
people once slaves, now free men, and standing in the 
midst of a republic, looking for their opening and prospect 
in life. 

We have had in the last few years a good deal of discus- 
sion, much of it helpful, but much of it, I regret to sa}-, 
harmful, as to what to do with these 10,000,000 people. 
From an intimate acquaintance with IMr. Thompson, I 
believe he comprehended that problem more perfectlv than 
any of his contemporaries, or at least his comprehension of 
it was so simple and so effective as to be intelligible to 
those with whom he expressed his views and opinions. 

He was a believer in the education of the South. He 
had secured what intellectual training he had in the com- 
mon schools and academies and business colleges of the 
community in which he was brought up. He began his 
career in early manhood as a teacher and as a superin- 
tendent of public instruction in the comnnmity in which 
he lived. He knew, and lost no opportunit\- to emphasize 
the fact, that the .salvation of the communitv in which he 
lived and the salvation of the whole country lies in that 
form of education which qualifies the ignorant and illiterate 



Address of Mr. DoUivcr, of lo'wa 97 

for the larger responsibilities that belong- to citizenship in 
the United States. 

So he devoted himself in all those years to a stndy of the 
question of bringing to the black race in the Sonth that 
kind of education which would enable them to master their 
situation, to acquire property, and attain a substantial rela- 
tion to the business community. \\'ith the best interests 
of both races in his heart, he .saw that the task before him 
was to prepare the black people for the everN-da\- duties of 
life, so that at length they might come naturalh- to the 
exercise of those rights which can not be permanently 
withheld under our form of government. 

His heart was enlisted in the cause of industrial edu- 
cation for the white people of the South because he 
saw what has been so graphicalh* described by the 
Senator from Alabama [^Ir. IMorgan], that the ci\-il 
war left the South prostrate, its occupations suspended, 
and the savings of generations wasted. 

But he did not confine his activities or his s\nipathies 
to the white race. He had a glimpse of the larger 
philosophy of this world which recognizes that there 
can not be permanently in a country like ours two 
levels of civilization ; that ultimateh' there will be one 
level, and that the lowest. And so he bent himself to 
the task of lifting an outcast and backward race from 
the degradation in which the civil war left it, by means 
of such a training as would fit it for the active duties 
of life. 

He gave his sympathy and coun.sel and his money to 
the great experiment which is going on in the town in 
H. Doc. 478, 5S-3 7 



98 Life and Character of C. 11'. Thompson 

which he li\'ed which is intended to fit tlie leaders, at 
least, of the colored race in the South for that guidance 
of their people without which all their j^roper rights 
under our institutions are vain and insubstantial. 

He not oul\- gave that far-reaching enterprise his good 
will, but out of the abundance with which the Lord 
had prospered him he gave his money and his constant 
support. 

I believe that he better than anybody else, certaiulv 
better than anvbodv whom I have come in contact 
with, comprehended his problem ; and while others who 
have studied it with less sympathy and less insight have 
been prone to disparage the work to which he gave his 
countenance and assistance, the time is coming when 
the benign work in which the Tuskegee Institute is 
engaged will be recognized all over the United States 
as the real emancipation of a race, the final deliverance 
of a people. 

It has been a good many years since I have cherished 
even a passing animosit^• left over from the period of 
the civil war. It has been a good many )-ears since I 
have felt in m\- heart any unkindness toward the people 
of the South. I recognize the fact that while the problem 
is not altogether theirs, but a problem of our whole 
civilization, the work of solving it in the nature of the 
ca.se nuist be largeh' theirs. I take this opportunity of 
paving nn- triljute to Representative Thompson as the 
foremost man of the South in his leadership in the right 
direction where the interest of the negro race is involved. 



. Address of Mr. Dol liver, of /ozca 99 

His jiublic service was brief, I think all too brief for 
his fame and for the fniition of the plans which he had 
in contemplation for the good of his people. The\' loved 
him and trusted him as few public men have been loved 
and trusted by any constitnenc}'. It was the unanimous 
testimony of those who went down to his home to stand 
with his neighbors by his grave that in all their expe- 
rience they had never attended a funeral ceremony in 
which the hearts of all were touched by an affliction so 
evident and so grevious. 

He was a man of wealth, a successful merchant, banker, 
and planter in that old comniunit\' in which his ancestors 
had lived. Yet about his grave gathered the poor, the 
humble, black as well as white, and the universal sor- 
row of all attested the hold which his life had given 
him upon the affections of his people. 

Such a career, even if it be brief, even if its conspic- 
uous ser\-ice be for only a few months, has no real end- 
ing in this world. Its final account can not be rendered 
until the good influences which he set on foot shall have 
fulfilled their errand, imtil the works of philanthropy and 
charity to which he gave his sympathy and his support 
have finished their ministry among the people whom they 
were intended to help. While his public life was cut short 
by death, the usefulness of the man has no end in this 
world, though his reward, as the reward of all faithful 
living, has come after the brief labors and trials of this 
strange life are over. 



lOO Life a>i(i Character of C. W. Thompson 



Address of Mr. Berry, of Arkansas 

I\Ir. President: Mr. Thompson was ser\-iiig his second 
term in Congress at the time of his death. While I 
had met him in a ca.snal way dnring; his first term, I 
never knew him TUitil the beginning of this session, when 
he came to live in the hotel where I have boarded for a 
nnmber of }ears. Dnring the entire winter I came in 
daih- contact with him. We had frequent conversations 
on \arious subjects. There was .scarcely a da^• pa.ssed in 
which I did not learn to know him lietter and to have a 
higher regard and a greater respect eacli day as the rela- 
tions continued. 

I think because I was a native of the State in which 
he li\'ed we were thrown together more frequently, with 
a few exceptions, than I have been with an\' ^leniber 
who does not live in \\\\ own State. As I learned to 
know him he impressed me as being earnest, kindh', 
considerate of the feelings of every human being with 
whom he came in contact, as a man who sought to 
contribute to the happiness of all those who surrounded 
him. 

1 learned in the con\-ersations I IkuI with him that 
liis whole mind was devoted to the building up of the 
Southern States, and especially of the State of Alabama. 
He belonged to that progressive .school which sought to 
bring immigration from e^•ery quarter, who earnestly 



Address of Mr. Berry, of Arkansas loi 

sought ti) develop even- resource within the great State 
in which he lived; and, as the Senator from Iowa [Air. 
Dolliver] has just said, one of the great purposes he had 
in life was to bring about a more kindly feeling among 
all sections of the Union. 

It may be that his mind did not so often revert and he 
did not so often speak of the suffering da>-s of the past as 
some others who participated in that great strife, and yet 
I learned from him that whate\er was honorable and 
whatever was glorious in the record of his State, either in 
peace or in war, was a source of pride and gratification to 
him ; and he often spoke of the great men who had repre- 
sented Alabama in this and the other House. But that 
which impressed me most about him was his universally 
kindly disposition, his high moral character, and his 
constant habit of tr^'ing to contribute to the happiness 
and to the good feeling which might exist between those 
with whom he came in contact. 

It was a great shock to those of us li\-ing in that hotel 
when on that Sabbath evening the word went forth that 
Charlie Thompson was dying. We could .scarcely 
realize that the man with whom we had come in daily 
contact for so man}- months, whom we had seen on the 
previous Sabbath as he attended church, and whom we 
had met in the parlor in the evening after his return — 
that in one short week, on the following Sabbath, his 
life was passing away. 

When his friends were gathered about him on that 
Sundav evening; when his )-oungest boy, a mere lad, 
stood weeping by the bedside; and when the father had 



I02 Life and Character of C. W. Tlionipson 

passed away, there came from the youth heartbroken sobs, 
and he asked the question: "Why has my father died?" 
The thouo;ht came to me that the same question for ages 
past has been asked, and asked in vain. The widowed 
wife, the devoted mother, the loving daughter, the faithful 
son, had often, as they stood at the deathbed of a loved 
one, asked: "Why has he died?" But no answer has ever 
come. 

We only know that sooner or later death will come to us 
all, but where and when and why none can tell. There is 
no answer to the question. But if a man has so lived that 
he has faithfully discharged all his duties, he leaves to his 
children the inheritance of a good name, which far snr- 
pa.s.«es all the accumulated wealth of this world. 

As the years go on, and those two bo\-s who are left 
behind remember the high and lofty character of their 
father, the splendid life he lived, his freedom from all that 
was e\-il, and his attempt to promote all that was good, I 
think it will lie a gratification to them to know that that 
father was honored and respected by every man who ever 
came in contact with him. 

I think, too, Mr. President, it will be a comfort and con- 
solation to them also to remember that in his dvincr hours, 
.so long as his mind remained clear, his faith never faltered, 
his hope was never shaken, but that he believed in his 
death, as he believed in his life, in the truths of the Chri.s- 
tian religion which he had learned from his mother and 
which he had taught to the two bo\s he left liehind. 



Address of Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois 103 



Address of Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois 

Mr. President : I was a Aleinber of the House of 
Representatives in the Fifty-seventh Congress. It was ni}- 
last service in that bodv. ^Ir. Thompson was first elected 
to that Congress, and I knew him onlv as one of the new 
^Members. Diu'ing m\ sen.-ice in the Honse in the Con- 
gress in which he was a iNIeniber there was bnt little 
opportunity for him to show the qnalities of statesman.ship 
that he tmdotibtedh- possessed. His relations with the 
Members, however, on both sides of the Chamber were 
snch as to early make him one of the marked men among 
the new Members. 

That he achieved a good standing is evidenced from 
the fact that in the committee assignments of the Fifty- 
eighth Congress Speaker Cannon placed him njjon the 
important Committee of Banking and Cnrrencw 

Mr. Thompson had not yet reached his forty-fonrth 
year when death claimed him. He had not yet reached 
the matnrity of his intellectnal powers, bnt his service in 
Congress had alreadx' given earnest of a ver\- useful and 
distinguished public career. 

Alabama has long been fortunate in the choice of her 
representatives in both branches of Congress. In the 
Senate, vSenators Morgan and Pettus are both men not 
only of distinguished ability and ripe experience in the 
affairs of life as well as legislation, but men of great 



I04 Life and Character of C. J I'. Thompson 

learning, who maintain the high character of the service 
in this Chamber which that great vState has alwa\-s 
exacted of her Senators. 

The people in a number of the districts in that State 
luu-e appreciated the advantages that come from long 
service of their Representatives and have been amph" 
repaid b)- the distinguished ability and fidelity to them 
which has been shown b>- such Representati\-es as Messrs. 
Bankhead, Clayton, Burnett, Richardson, and Underwood. 
The long sen,-ice that these men ha\-e had in the House 
of Representatives has given them favoral)le committee 
assignments and has enabled them to accomplish more 
for their districts and their State than could be accom- 
plished by rotation in the membership of the House from 
that State regardless of the distinguished abilities that 
any new Alember might possess. 

The Members whom I have named have not only been 
loyal to their several districts, but have been keenly alive 
to the interests of Alabama and the entire Southland 
on all (luestions ai?ecting that section, and have been 
thoroughh- jiatriotic in their support of the General 
Government. Mr. Thomp.sox gave promise of taking 
rank with these Alembers in the House on all questions 
of general legislation, and especially on all questions that 
affected his district and State. 

His life and career illustrate the possibilities of Ameri- 
can citizenship. He first saw the light of day on a 
plantation in Macon County, near Tuskegee, Ala. His 
childhood years were filled witli incidents that are com- 
mon to the life of the average American bo\-. He earlv 



Address of Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois 105 

developed an aiiiljition to gain an education and to 
improve his condition in life. After acquiring all the 
edncation that cotild be secured in the common schools 
of the county in which he was born he went to Tuskegee 
and there attended the Park High School, studying man}- 
of the higher branches of education and qualifying him- 
self for the work which fortune had destined him to 
undertake in after life. 

He was successful in all of his imdertakings. He was 
a large owner of real estate and took an earnest interest 
in improving the condition of farm life in Alabama. 
He was also a business man of rare ability, and at the 
time of his decease was the president of the bank at 
Tuskeeee. Like most American citizens, he earlv took 
an interest in politics. The first political office that he 
ever held was that of county superintendent of education 
of Macon County, his native county. He was elected 
to this position when he was onh' 26 years of age and 
held it for two years, discharging his duties in a manner 
that was not onh' satisfactory to his constituency, but 
creditable to himself. 

For the next ten years he devoted his attention to his 
plantations and to his business, in which he was eminently 
successful. When he again essayed to enter political life, 
it was to represent the twenty-sixth senatorial district in 
the senate of Alabama. His service there was of such a 
character that his constituency determined that he was 
a fit man to represent them in the National House of 
Representatives, and the}- accordingly, at the expiration 
of his term of service as State senator, elected him as a 



io6 Life and CJiaracicr of C. JF. Tlionipson 

Member from the district in which he was born to the 
Fifty-seventh Congress. 

No higher tribnte conld be paid to his worth than this. 
The people who thus honored him were nian\- of them 
those who had known him from his earliest childhood, 
and who had noted his advancement from one position to 
another, and with satisfaction had marked the fact that 
with each sncceeding honor that had been thrnst upon him 
he had shown the qualities of heart and head that not onlv 
justified the confidence of his constituents, but ga-\-e promise 
of a splendid future. 

He was taken away, Mr. President, at a time when he 
was most n.seful to his old neighbors, friends, and constitu- 
ents, and at a time, too, to which he had confidently looked 
forward as enabling him to not only work out the dreams 
of his boyhood ambitions, but to render a ser\'ice to his 
people and State that would be of an enduring character. 

His death is not onh- an irreparable loss to his familv 
and kindred, but one that will be long felt b\- the people of 
his district and State. In the stremious life that he passed 
in carrying on his various business enterprises and min- 
gling in politics as actively as he did, he did not forget the 
teaching of the vSavior of Mankind and his obligation to 
his God. He exemplified in his life the teaching of the 
Christian religion, and died in the faith of the Methodist 
Church. 



Address of Mr. I'ct/iis, of Alabama 107 



Address of Mr. Pettus, of Alabama 

Mr. Presidext: The character and work of the dead 
Representative from Alabama have been portrayed to the 
Senate with more force and with more eloquent language 
than I can command. 

I will onlv tell von of his burial at his home. I was 
one of the Senate committee sent to Alabama to attend the 
funeral ceremonies. 

Our dead friend was born and reared in Tuskegee, in 
Macon County, Ala., where he lived at the time of his 
death. 

Tuskegee is the county seat. It is a village in the east 
central part of the State, and it has long been the home of 
an educated, orderh', and honorable population. It has 
been the location of useful schools for man\- years. 

The train convening the bod>- of Mr. Thompson and 
the official escort arrived at Tuskegee about 10 o'clock at 
night; and it was met at the depot by a great concour.se 
of the people, white and black, read>- to do all in their 
power to show their respect and affection for their dead 
friend. It was a solemn and .sorrowing gathering of the 
whole population. 

Next da\- the people from the county came from every 
part and in great numbers; and many came from other 
parts of the State to pay a last tribute to the dead. 



loS Life and Character of C. 11'. Tlioinpson 

The funeral serxices were conducted in the Methodist 
Church, of whicli our dead friend had long; been a member. 

Mr. Thojipsox was a jDrosperous business man, full of 
business energy and work, and he had the power and the 
disposition to do many acts of kindness to others. His 
manner was bright, cheerful, and gracious. So his work 
and his charity, though not ostentatious, became well 
known. 

The poet has well said : 

The world, wliich credits what is done. 
Is cold to all that niitjht have been. 

Such a burial Ijy that people could never come to anv 
man tniless they could .say of him, "Well done, good and 
faithful man." 

Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of the resolution;;. 

The resolutions were unanimoush- agreed to; and accord- 
ingly (at 5 o'clock and 30 minutes p. m.) the .Senate 
adjourned until to-morrow, Tuesday, April 26, 1904, at 12 
o'clock meridian. 

o 



